Distinctive hand style lettering is an essential skill for artists and designers. Deftly executed hand crafted letter forms are a nearly forgotten art in an age of endless free fonts. Graffiti is one of the last reservoirs of highly refined, well practiced penmanship.

The most reviled and persecuted form of Graffiti, the tag, is seldom appreciated for the raw beauty of its skeletal letter forms. Most tags are removed immediately, and thus the casual viewer seldom has a chance to discern the difference between entry level and advanced hand styles.

Handselecta is a longstanding documentary and cultural appreciation project consisting of collaborative fonts, videos and a published record of oral history. With Flip the Script, I systematically analyzed a cross section of American graffiti hand styles, contextualizing the work of graffiti writers from around the United States. The various lettering samples are presented in a clean organized format, giving the material formal treatment evoking classic typography books.

Role: Creative Direction, Art Direction, Curator & Author
Video: Justin Hogan (Thanks Camera)
Book Design: Farewell NY
Publisher: Gingko Press