Tamás Sipos had studied the unique formal elements of graffiti, then created three versions of the OFFYARD experimental font.
Most of the time we associate graffiti with underground subculture, however, their unique visual world has an impact on all of us: they are organically integrated into the fabric of cities, we see them every day.
The spray-painted graffiti is a thing of the streets, so it’s questionable whether the genre can find a way for itself in the digital space. Tamás Sipos set out to answer this question: he manifests the atmosphere of the writings on the wall originally made in a quite free and vigorous manner in an experimental font.
Realizing the hand-sprayed graffiti in a precise, digital form might seem like a contradictory process at first, however, the designer found several unique and recurring elements in the research phase that he could turn to during the design process for inspiration.
He created three versions of the OFFYARD font bordering on legibility and spectacular, abstract forms, as well as a publication in which one can also read related texts in addition to the pictures of the more than 200 graffiti photographed near Debrecen and Eger in the course of the research; or at least one could read, if the font compositions of OFFYARD didn’t cover the writings, thus giving an authentic demonstration of the random stratification of real graffiti.
OFFYARD – diplomawork of Tamás Sipos
Consultant: Zoltán Zeman
Visual Arts Institute, Media & Design Eger
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