Let’s get this straight – I absolutely hate graffiti/tag fonts that you can download from the web. In this short post I’ll try to explain why I hate them and why using them does not make you cool in the graffiti scene.
I used to be a graffiti writer myself. As a kid, I spent evenings and early mornings out there on the streets with a marker or a spray can in my hand, making the dull walls more colorful or just leaving my mark, by so-called tagging. I considered myself a part of a local graffiti scene and still I find tags and graffiti an inspiration for my work.
What most people don’t know, tag as in nickname, is not the only trademark of a good writer. Every writer has his unique style of tagging, coming from years of doing tags on the walls and being inspired by others – you make your own tag by letters, spacings, connections, adding your specific effects to it with arrows, swooshes and so on… Just like calligraphy.
In graffiti culture people copying others and people who don’t have their own style are simply called “toys”. If you are a toy, you get no respect in the environment whatsoever, in extreme your tags and pieces are getting crossed over with a big “TOY” tagged in the center.
That’s where I reach my point – by using pre-made tag fonts you are simply a “TOY” for a graffiti writer. A good tag style takes time to develop and is not just a bunch of letters – it’s the way you write your name, your trademark. Everything is important – way you tag letters, letter spacing, connections between letters etc. Therefore my plea – if you have to do something that requires a tag, don’t use fonts (especially crappy ones), just try to write it yourself or try to get in touch with your local graffiti scene and find someone to help you. It will require more effort, but the final effect will be better for sure.
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