Notes from the workbench

Graffiti lettering, explained

Short, practical write-ups on the things that trip people up: file formats, licence wording, layering technique and what to do with an alphabet once you have installed it.

Collections

Ten shortlists, grouped by what you are actually making — stickers, shirts, posters, cut vinyl. Each one is five to nine alphabets with a note on why it made the list.

• 7 fonts

  7 Bubble Letter Fonts for Stickers and Kids' Crafts

  Rounded, friendly and easy to recolour — the alphabets that survive being printed at sticker size.

• 8 fonts

  8 Graffiti Fonts That Cut Clean on a Cricut

  Textured alphabets shred vinyl. These eight have the clean paths a blade needs.

• 7 fonts

  7 Drippy Graffiti Fonts for Halloween and Horror Art

  Drips, cracks and grime already drawn into the letters. No texture overlays required.

• 9 fonts

  9 Bold Graffiti Fonts for T-Shirt Designs

  Heavy alphabets that still read in a thumbnail and do not fill in on fabric.

• 6 fonts

  6 Chrome and Shine Fonts for Album and Cover Art

  Metallic highlights already drawn in — set them on a dark background and they do the rest.

• 8 fonts

  8 Marker and Tag Fonts for Journals and Zines

  Handwritten street lettering that still reads in a paragraph, not just a headline.

• 7 fonts

  7 Wildstyle Fonts for Crew Logos and Tattoo Flash

  Interlocking arrows and overlaps. Brilliant on one word, unreadable on a sentence.

• 6 fonts

  6 Outline Fonts for Layered Paper and Colouring Pages

  Hollow letters waiting to be filled — with colour, pattern, photos or a second sheet of card.

• 8 fonts

  8 Street Fonts for Skate, Sport and Streetwear

  Alphabets with speed and movement drawn into the letterforms, for brands that need to look fast.

• 7 fonts

  7 Spray Paint and Wall Texture Fonts for Posters

  Overspray and grain built into the letters, so a poster looks printed on concrete without any overlays.

Guides

• OTF, TTF or WOFF: Which Graffiti Font File Do You Need?

  Three file extensions, one alphabet, and a lot of confusion. Here is what each format actually does.

• Reading a Font Licence Before You Print Merch

  A commercial licence is not a blank cheque. Here is what to check before your design reaches a print queue.

• Layering Graffiti Letters: Fill, Outline, Shadow and Glow

  One alphabet, four layers. The technique that turns typed letters into something that looks painted.

• Fifteen Uses for a Graffiti Font That Aren't a T-Shirt

  Street lettering earns its keep far beyond apparel. Fifteen places it works, and the styles that suit each.