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A History of Modern Graffiti Typefaces

by: Raseone - Updated 04/17/2024

Preface

This study seeks to chronicle the history & development of graffiti style typefaces in the digital age. Starting in late 1960s America, the modern art form of graffiti has had a tremendous impact on many aspects of art design & culture worldwide. In this article we will focus specifically on the emergence of graffiti into the world of mechanical typography. Given its place in history this means digital typefaces specifically.

This study is a living document compiled mainly from primary sources, over the course of several years. The first draft was written in 2008. Several major updates and expansions have been added since. The information in this article is sourced from books, magazine & newspaper articles ranging from 1969 to present as well as documentary films, news reports, web sites & more. Most importantly, much of the information in this article is sourced from interviews and communications with the graffiti writers & type developers who designed the first typefaces in this genre as well as from my own first hand experience as a graffiti writer since 1989, a graphic designer since 1992, a type developer since 1999 & the founder of the Graffiti Fonts® collection, the first, longest running collection of such work.

Table of Contents

Understanding Graffiti

Part 1 - Understanding Modern Graffiti Art & Lettering

This first section provides a brief sumary of the phenomenon of graffiiti writing as it exists throughout history. The modern art form of graffiti & its origins in earlier events like New York subway graffiti, philadelphia tagging & zoot suit culture are described with photo examples spanning the 1970s to present.

Graffiti in Graphic Design

Part 2 - Graffiti Lettering in Modern Art & Design

The second part of this study explores the pressence of graffiti art & lettering in the world of commercial design & the graphic arts. Here we summarize the strong influence that graffiti has applied to these fields over the last several decades.

The First Graffiti Fonts

Part 3 - The First Graffiti Fonts

In the third portion of the study we focus on the critical firsts withing the emergence of graffiti lettering into the world of mechanical type, exploring in detail some of the most important typefaces designed in the earliest stages of the genres debut.

Understanding Graffiti

Part 4 - Graffiti Font Timeline

The fourth part of our study consists of detailed timeline outlining in chronological order the first 30 graffiti style typefaces ever designed as well as the foundries, designers, websites & collections that played a major role in the emergence of this whole new category of type.

Innovations in Typography

Part 5 - Innovations in Typography

The fifth section is dedicated to crediting some of the important innovations that the designers of graffiti style fonts have contributed to type design. We detail several novel features & techniques that graffiti artists & other authors of graffiti typefaces brought to the table.

What is a Graffiti Font

Part 6 - What is a Graffiti Font?

The sixth & final part of the study is dives into the definition & nature of graffiti lettering & graffiti art itself for the purpose of categorizing the graffiti genre of type. In this section we attempt to provide viable, objective standards by which graffiti styles can be identified.