It’s been a while since I’ve dedicated an entire post to urban lettering. I’m a fan of this form of street art with ancient roots. Even in antiquity, the Greeks and Romans wrote on the walls of Pompeii with charcoal and ink, announcing political protests, social messages, and even declarations of love.
In the United States, between the 1920s and 1940s, gangs used stylized signatures (tags) to mark their turf—much like cats urinate to mark their territory. The streets of Los Angeles and Philadelphia were teeming with these tags.
But it was in 1970 that the urban lettering movement exploded globally in New York City, particularly in the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the Bronx. Teenagers began using cans of spray paint to sign their nicknames and the street number where they lived. It was during this period that lettering ceased to be merely a quick signature and evolved into Wildstyle—complex, three-dimensional letters, full of arrows, curves, and intricate connections, where legibility gave way to visual aesthetics.
These different styles of lettering that I’m sharing with you today were captured last September in Faro, Portugal.
The photographs show different ways of transforming letters into images. Some designs favor rounded shapes that are easier to read at a glance; others explore angular structures, multiple outlines, overlays, and depth effects. The information below about the styles was gathered from ChatGPT.
Style: Block Letters / Geometric Lettering
Geometric lettering, similar to the Blockbuster style, though with distortions and Wildstyle elements. The size and boldness of the letters emphasize visual impact and their presence in the urban space.
Style: Bubble Letters / Throw-up
Rounded, voluminous, and interconnected letters. The fluidity of the forms brings it closer to the “throw-up” tradition, one of the most recognizable forms of graffiti.
Style: Throw-up / Bubble Graffiti
Rounded letters with Throw-up and Bubble Style characteristics. The work emphasizes the relative legibility of the signature, the rhythm of the forms, and the expressiveness of color.
Style: Wildstyle / 3D Lettering
It is one of the most complex typefaces in terms of letter construction. The characters feature sharp angles, extensions, interlocking elements, and a strong connection between the different elements.
The goal is not merely to convey a word, but to transform the letters into an autonomous graphic composition. Decoding the signature takes a back seat to the visual complexity.
Style: Wildstyle / 3D Graffiti
Large, highly stylized letters with pointed ends and lateral extensions. The design features a more dynamic typographic style.
Style: Wildstyle / 3D Lettering
This work stands out for its use of angular shapes and the complexity of the connections between letters. The composition features a dynamic structure, with extensions and intersections. The letters have different angles and sizes, creating a sense of movement.
Style: Bubble Letters / Throw-up
It is an example of a fusion between lettering and illustration. The letter ceases to be merely a typographic element and also serves as a medium for small drawings and visual expressions.
Style: Bubble Graffiti / 3D Lettering
Bubble Letters, with wide, rounded, and connected characters. It is a work that combines the traditional language of graffiti with a more elaborate approach to the volume and lighting of the letters.