Ph.D, A Design Office

George Ohr was a nutter, and we’re not just saying that to be mean, he was commonly known as The Mad Potter of Biloxi. He was also an incredible artist who lived and worked his whole life in Biloxi, Mississippi, but amazingly his work was never truly recognized during his lifetime. Now, 90 years after his death, the city of Biloxi is making this right with the building of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. Designed by Gehry Partners with the first phase scheduled to open in the fall of 2110, we were once again asked to collaborate with Craig Webb and his team on the architectural signage and wayfinding, which included hand-painted and enamel signs. But our favorite part had to be during the inspiration phase when we looked at posters and signage that George made for himself. We discovered a man who loved a good pun, surrounding himself with signs that read MY NAME IS MUD, GET ON 2 MY EARTHEN-WAR, and our favorite, POT-OHR-E.