Handicraft workers

How to become a sign writer, decorative painter, engraver or etcher

Official title: Sign writers, decorative painters, engravers and etchers

Also called: Decorative painter, Glass enameller, Glass engraver, Glass etcher, Signwriter

Signwriters, decorative painters, engravers and etchers decorate articles made of wood, metal, textiles, glass, ceramics and other materials. They plan, lay out and paint letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs and engrave and etch ornamental and floral designs on glass and other articles.

Main tasks

Painting decorative freehand designs on objects such as pottery, glass, cigarette cases or lampshades
Transferring decorative or ornamental designs onto articles from paper transfers
Integrating and developing visual elements, such as line, space, mass, colour and perspective, in order to produce desired effects such as the illustration of ideas, emotions or moods
Laying out and painting in one or more languages letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs
Sketching or tracing designs or lettering onto work pieces or pattern materials to prepare patterns or stencils
Designing patterns or lettering to paint work pieces such as signs, glassware, pottery or zinc plates
Using software and routing equipment to produce three-dimensional carved images for application onto larger signage as well as engraved and inlaid signs
Designing and producing normal flat cut lettering, or lettering that is shadowed with applied vinyl, or lettering that is ready cut for application
Writing, painting or printing signs or show cards used for display or other purposes
Cutting out letters and signs for display purposes from wallboard or cardboard, by hand or machines such as electrically powered jigsaws or bandsaws

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: HK$21,000 a month
About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a sign writer, decorative painter, engraver or etcher?

Usually not. Only 9% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a sign writer, decorative painter, engraver or etcher?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026