Urban Colombian Typography by Laura Beretti

laura beretti

URBAN COLOMBIAN TYPOGRAPHY

2014

U R B A N COLOMBIAN TYPOGRAPHY WRITING HISTORY

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

A lot has been written and said in recent years to combat the negative image Colombia has abroad. We are all too aware of the history of this country, but equally most people here have seen the massive strides made to improve Colombiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public image and put the country where it should rightly be in terms of international tourism.This desire to change the country for the better, to show off Colombiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friendly culture, aweinspiring landscapes and astonishing diversity, is something that can be seen in all levels of society, not just amongst politicians and journalists. Even the urban, disenfranchised youth are rallying together to create a better Colombia, a more respected Colombia and a Colombia without fear and prejudice. ANONYMOUS

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

INTRODUCTION Graffiti is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and it has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.

SCRIBBLING THROUGH TIME

In modern times, paint (particularly spray paint) and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner’s consent is considered defacement andvandalism, which is a punishable crime. Graffiti may also express underlying social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles. Within hip hop culture, graffiti has evolved alongside hip hop music, b-boying, and other elements.Unrelated to hip-hop graffiti, gangs use their own form of graffiti to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials, law enforcement, and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested and reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction. Both « graffiti » and its occasional singular form « graffito » are from the Italian word graffiato (scratched). « Graffiti » is applied in art history to works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is « sgraffito », which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it.

This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into it. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek — graphein — meaning « to write ». The term, graffiti, referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Use of the word has evolved to include any graphics applied to surfaces in a manner that constitutes vandalism.The only known source of the Safaitic language, a form of proto-Arabic, is from graffiti : inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD.

INTRODUCTION

- a history of graffiti MODERN DAY WRITING Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal. Graffiti artists constantly have the looming threat of facing consequences for displaying their graffiti. Many choose to protect their identities and reputation by remaining anonymous. With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted « graffiti » art, graffiti artists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered « performance art » despite the image of the « singing and dancing star » that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffiti artists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist. On top of the political aspect of graffiti as a movement, political groups and individuals may also use graffiti as a tool to spread their point of view. This practice, due to its illegality, has generally become favored by groups excluded from the political mainstream who justify their activity by pointing out that they do not have the money to buy advertising to get their message across, and that a « ruling class » or « establishment » controls the mainstream press, systematically excluding the radical and alternative point of view. Street art is an umbrella term defining forms of visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. The term gained popularity during the graffiti art boom of the early 1980s and continues to be applied to subsequent incarnations. The terms « urban art », « guerrilla art », « post-graffiti » and « neo-graffiti » are also sometimes used when referring to artwork created in these contexts.Traditional spray-painted graffiti artwork itself is often included in this category, excluding territorial graffiti or pure vandalism.

Artists who choose the streets as their gallery are often doing so from a preference to communicate directly with the public at large, free from perceived confines of the formal art world. Street artists sometimes present socially relevant content infused with esthetic value, to attract attention to a cause or as a form of « art provocation ». Street artists often travel between countries to spread their designs. Some artists have gained cult-followings, media and art world attention, and have gone on to work commercially in the styles which made their work known on the streets. Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. Street artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language.The motivations and objectives that drive street artists are as varied as the artists themselves. There is a strong current of activism and subversion in urban art. Street art can be a powerful platform for reaching the public and a potent form of political expression for the oppressed, or people with little resources to create change. Common variants include adbusting, subvertising and other culture jamming, the abolishment of private property and reclaiming the streets. Some street artists use « smart vandalism » as a way to raise awareness of social and political issues.Other street artists simply see urban space as an untapped format for personal artwork, while others may appreciate the challenges and risks that are associated with installing illicit artwork in public places. A universal motive of most, if not all street art, is that adapting visual artwork into a format which utilizes public space allows artists who may otherwise feel disenfranchised to reach a much broader audience than traditional artwork and galleries normally allow. Street art is a topical issue. Some people consider it a crime, others consider it a form of art.

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

STREET ART IN COLOMBIA B O G O T A, T H E V O I C E O F T H E P E O P L E Colombia is throwing off its negative reputation with a cultural and artistic renaissance to match any of its South American neighbours. Nowhere is this more evident than in the street art which adorns Bogotá’s walls, and which reveals the untrammelled creativity of the capital’s graffiti artists. Liana Mellotte celebrates the best of those artists, and shares her impressions of Colombia’s street art renaissance. While many countries treat street art as an abomination often carried out by belligerent youths with criminal tendencies, Colombia has embraced it as the artistic expression of its people. Artists are often commissioned to create facades. in a bid by businesses to avoid mindless tagging, and advertising campaigns utilise the medium as a channel to reach their market. For the ‘grafiteros’ themselves, it is a chance to create powerful social commentary about the nation’s politics, to champion their heroes or simply to brighten the days of the people who have suffered at the hands of Colombia’s somewhat murky past. If the city is an indication of what is to come in the country, with its fast-growing economy and increasing international presence, then it will soon be as important as Brazil as a huge exponent of public art. “There’s more bombers, styles have

INTRODUCTION changed, people are pushing hard on creativity and art... more people from outside are coming... it’s probably going to be a hot spot” suggests Saga Uno, a Bogotá based graf writer and graphic designer. According to Jose Sarralde, Editor-inchief of Cartel Urbano, the city’s main publication on street culture, “what makes graffiti special in Bogotá is that it reflects a mix between the influences coming from abroad and our own concerns: Bogotá has its own aesthetic. Artists and graf writers are becoming world citizens a fact that has familiarized them with different movements and spread their own. Personally I really like the graphic element of the scene that shows our indigenous origins.”

- a multicultural country Graffiti has traditionally served as a mode of expression against the establishment and as a way for artists to communicate with a wide audience, but Bogota is exploding internationally as here graffiti is not illegal and artists can freely expand their styles. Colombia’s capital is not only becoming increasingly recognized as a canvas for some of the toughest, pointed social commentary street art in the world, but also for its free range of artistic styles. The concrete blandness of the capital’s cityscape demands color, and an equally grey area in the law means that it is not illegal. It is prohibited to paint on government buildings, but otherwise, the city is basically a blank canvas. While an artist in Europe or the U.S. can gain a criminal record, fine, or even jail for their work, here in Bogota street art is encouraged. “Save for a bribe here and there,” says Crisp, an Australian street artist currently based in Bogota, who explains that “rather than have their building tagged or bombed (hurriedly lettered or stenciled), owners often choose to have a mural painted,

which is more likely to be respected by other graffiti artists and not defaced.” Crisp believes in local communities reclaiming the street aesthetic as their own. Bogota is just beginning to gain international recognition as it emerges from its dark days and begins to attract foreign artists. Meanwhile, talented Colombian artists are being invited to travel overseas. Stinkfish and Toxicomano are among the most well known with recent exhibitions in Berlin, New York, and London to name a few. The wide variety of art styles can be seen all over the city. From south to north, west to east, In the poorest barrios or the commercial centers it is not unusual to spot a crew of grafiteros at work with paint cans open on the sidewalk. Relatively speaking, spray paint is more expensive in Colombia than in Europe, and this forces Colombian artists to combine use of the paint with other materials to make it last longer, and has the side effect of producing innovative graffiti designs which are not seen in Europe and elsewhere. The bogotano artists are fresh and breathe a new vitality onto the international scene. Incredibly relaxed laws involving the declassification of graffiti from ‘crime’ to ‘violation’ have led to the country’s capital Bogota becoming a hotbed of global talent with home-grown and world renowned artists congregating here to practise their art. The ability to expand and experiment with their styles with little fear of legal reproach has proved attractive, and as a result the city pulsates with international and native talent. Graf culture in Bogotá has only really emerged in the last decade or so – and a lot of the graffiti still happens during the day, not in the sequestered veils of night. What is happening in Bogotá is that there is a huge culture around Hip Hop, and people from all kind of neighborhoods are taking over the city to express in some way that not only mainstream culture is in the city.

A-Z STREE GLOS CECS

APC

MAS PAZ

ELLIOT TUPAC

PEZ

BASTARDILLA

VERTIGO

DJLU

NOMADA SHOT DMENTE

ET SSARY GRIS ONE

OBISK

LA MOTS CRU

RODEZ

YURIKA

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

APC

graffiti crew

- bogota 14 16 THE ARTISTS

STYLE

DEFINITION

APC (Animal Poder Crew) are one of the most prolific street art collectives, reclaiming the street aesthetic with multiple murals across the city. First started around 10 years ago by Stinkfish, it has since grown into a truly international collective encapsulating graffiti writers and street artists alike from Latin America and Europe. APC includes many talents including Gris-one, Ark, Pez, DEXS, Chirrete Golden, FCO, Saks, Sabor and Temor to name just a few. Their styles are varied and dynamic but are predominantly freestyle techniques and characters with strong graffiti writing influences.

A crew, krew, or cru is a group of associated writers or graffiti artists that often work together. Crews are differentiated from gangs in that their main objective is to paint graffiti, although ganglike activity can occur. Any group of friends can quickly and informally form a crew if they are interested in graffiti and want to start collaborating. Often crews will recruit new members over time in order to maintain their relevance. There is a smaller risk of being held responsible for crew works if a single member gets arrested. From a legal point of view, the name could have been painted by anyone in the group.

APC

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

APC

18 20

APC

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- time in hell regular

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Designers: Carlos Segura Design date: 1994 Publisher: T-26

CARLOS SEGURA

APC

144PT

100PT

72PT

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36PT

14PT

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back to back

- bogota 22 24

BASTARDILLA

THE ARTISTS

STYLE

DEFINITION

Most of the walls in the cities of Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, up the coast in Barranquilla and Santa Marta are covered with paintings of faces haunted by sadness, women bearing cacti on their heads and hummingbirds. This is the work of a mysterious woman who only goes by her pseudonym, Bastardilla — the Spanish word for “italics.” She is determined to draw attention to her art and not towards herself. Her paintings have garnered fans from Paraguay to Serbia. Some have discovered her work through Internet (some of her pictures here) while others have witnessed it from themselves.

back to back Graffiti that covers a wall from end to end, as seen on some parts of the West-Berlin side of the Berlin Wall. Similarly, t rains sometimes receive end to end painting when a carriage has been painted along its entire length. This is often abbreviated as e2e. End to ends used to be called window-downs but this is an older expression that is falling from popularity.

BASTARDILLA

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

BASTARDILLA

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BASTARDILLA

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COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE This is a complex typographic system which includes three different but complementary styles so far: Slab, italic and script, with nine weights each one; plus three sets of ornamental fonts: labels, negative labels and ornaments. The soul of the family is a slab feeling applied judiciously to the italic and script styles to make it coherent with the whole system. Each style has three sets of figures: Proportional lining, tabular lining and old style. You can mix the three styles in a single piece to obtain more expressive results without worring about the uniformity and complementing the design by using the ornamental sets.

This is a Manuel Corradineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal project devised in 2006. It aims to develop fonts in diverse styles, mainly experimental and geometric. Due to his daily practice as calligrapher, he also expects to design fonts based on his own calligraphy. Foundry details Location: Corradine Fonts Carrera 17 No. 42-03 Bogota, Distrito Capital 11001000 Colombia

Designers: Manuel Eduardo Corradine, Sergio RamĂrez Design date: 2013 Publisher: Corradine Fonts

- alianza slab 600

MANUEL CORRADINE

BASTARDILLA

144PT

72PT

48PT

36PT

24PT

18PT

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CECS - bogota

30 32

throw-ups STYLE

DEFINITION

throw-up A throw-up or ÂŤthrowieÂť sits between a tag and a bomb in terms of complexity and time investment. It generally consists of a one color outline and one layer of fill-color. Easy-to-paint bubble shapes often form the letters. A throw-up is designed for quick execution, to avoid attracting attention to the writer. Throw-ups are often utilized by writers who wish to achieve a large number of tags while competing with rival artists. Most artists have both a tag and a throw-up that are essentially fixed compared to pieces. It is mostly so because they need to have a recognizable logo for others to identify them and their own individual styles.

CECS

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

CECS

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- lita molis a 36 38

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Lita was inspired by Maria Angelica Estrada’s manuscript lettering. Its sweet and feminine style improves when you put on top the A,B and C files, saving time and work when changing colors, changing look or changing the volume it needs. Designers: María Angélica Estrada Cano, Carlos Fabián Camargo Guerrero Design date: 2006-2009 Publisher: Mariaes

María Angélica Estrada COno

Born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1979, Maria Angélica Estrada Cano studied architecture at the Javeriana University in Bogotá between 1998 and 2004. Between 2003 and 2004 she worked by herself remodelling interiors, and spent seven months as a ‘design wizard’ at the planning office of the Javeriana University. From 2004 until 2008, she was the design director of an American company, which specialises in designing and specifying office furniture in the United States. In 2009, she established the Bogotá-based company, Mariaes. It specialises in architectural design and font development. She has collaborated with the designer Carlos Fabián Camargo Guerrero to produce several fonts, including Makika.

CARLOS FABIAN CAMARGO

CECS

150PT

144PT

72PT

48PT

24PT

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- bogota 38 40

DJ LU stencil

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

Has been painting the streets of Bogota for over 10 years now. The Toximano member’s detailed and highly social / political stencils vary from small simple but powerful ‘bombing’ pictograms to massive complex multilayered murals. He is also a photographer so uses most of his own images of people to create his unique stencils. He is a fine art graduate of the University National, and the 37 year old has become known for his politically-charged pictograms stencilled across the city alongside their signature ‘Juega Siempre’ (‘Always Play’.) His work is impactful, delivering its message to the beholder in seconds, and he has constantly fought against brands who have tried to monetize his work, rather hoping to open the eyes of people to Bogota and to life’s opportunities.

paste-up A drawing, stencil etc. on paper fixed to a wall or other surface using wheatpaste or wallpaper paste.

DJLU

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

DJLU

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

DJLU

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- sra stencil regular 44 46

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE An elegant and feminine stencil inspired in the Colombian colonial times. Designers: Sergio Ramírez Design date: 2008

Type Designer from Medellín. Personal details From: Colombia Born: Medellín, 1988 What he does: Type Design

SERGIO RAMIREZ

DJLU

144PT

120PT

72PT

48PT

24PT

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

Carlos Fabian Camargo

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gluten regular publisher Andinistas

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

Cesar Puertas

48 50

robofan regular publisher cesar puertas

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

GRIS ONE 50 52 THE ARTIST

STYLE

Delving further into the surreal, Gris One paints very surreal almost dali-esque works with free style spray painting. He is part of the biggest crew in Colombia “Animal Poder Crew” aka APC, and also paints for “Vertigo Graffiti” and “Ink” crews.

wildstyle Graffiti with text so stylized as to be difficult to read, often with interlocking, three-dimensional type. piece A large, complex, and laborintensive graffiti painting. Pieces often incorporate 3-D effects, arrows, and many colors and colortransitions, as well as various other effects. These will usually be done by writers with more experience. Originally shorthand for masterpiece, considered the full and most beautiful work of graffiti). A piece requires more time to paint than a throw-up. If placed in a difficult location and well executed it will earn the writer more respect. Piece can also be used as a verb that means: «to write».

- bogota

DEFINITION

GRIS ONE

piece

wildstyle

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

GRIS ONE

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

GRIS ONE

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- denedo 1b 56 58

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Just like the M.C. Escher impossible figures and optical illusions, “Denedo” is a font that is impossible to construct in three dimensions because it only exists as a drawing. This font is based on the “0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9” characters of one of the alphabets published by Nedo Mion Ferrario in the “Letromaquia” exhibition that was shown in Caracas, Venezuela in the 70’s. The reason why I chose to restore and complete this font is that unique and exceptional personality that each word acquires when it is written with this alphabet. Denedo is a typographic family in three styles: Denedo 1A, 1B and 1C. When mixing them in big sizes you will emphasize the balance and incongruity of its shapes, providing originality and a unique identity to every word. All of the 3 variations include a complete character set with the lower and upper case letters, numbers, accents, diacritic signs, punctuation and monetary signs.

Andinistas is a small typographic digital foundry founded in Caracas D.F., Venezuela, in 1998 by Carlos Fabián Camargo Guerrero, Lennyn José Salinas Albarrán and Jorge Alexander Camargo Guerrero. In 2003, Andinistas was established in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia as a Graphic Design studio specialized in the design and development of retail fonts and fonts by order. Foundry details Location: Andinistas Bogotá, Cundinamarca Colombia

Designers: Nedo Mion Ferrario, Carlos Fabián Camargo Guerrero Design date: 2001-2007

CARLOS FABIAN CAMARGO

GRIS ONE

144PT

72PT

48PT

36PT

24PT

18PT

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

Carlos Fabian Camargo

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gancho petare publisher andinistas

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

Fernando Forero

60 62

arleah publisher fernando forero

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

Sergio Ramirez

62 64

trochera font publisher Sardiez

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

Manuel Corradine

64 66

quarzo publisher corradine fonts

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

LA MOTS CRU 66 68

roller

THE ARTIST

STYLE

The scene is still fresh: graffiti is still predominantly done for other writers, not the public, meaning that hand-styles and throw-ups are sovereign. Most are reminiscent of classic styles from the UK and USA halcyon days of the 90s, such as VACS or crisp, bold, letters, painted with rollers rather than spray – Crudo and Cups Uno are the kings at this, with Crudo belonging to the 30-strong Animal Poder Collectivo (APC) crew, one of Bogotá’s most prolific collectives. Others to look out for in this direction are Skore999, Bombas, Cecs and MOTs cru.

roller An enormous piece done with a paint roller instead of aerosol. These are usually completed in very simplified letter forms that resemble font, but can occasionally be very intricate and complex.

DEFINITION

- bogota

LA MOTS CRU

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LA MOTS CRU

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

LA MOTS CRU

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- toonish regular 72 74

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Designers: Tom Burns Design date: 2009 Publisher: T-26

CARLOS SEGURA

Segura Incâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Digital Type Foundry started by Carlos Segura in 1994.

LA MOTS CRU

144PT

72PT

48PT

36PT

24PT

18PT

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

MAS PAZ

74 76

piece

- bogota

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

«When I was one year old I was adopted from La Casa de la Madre y el Niño, an orphanage in Bogota, Colombia. About every two years I travel back to Colombia to reconnect with family friends and visit my orphanage. In 2005 I volunteered for one month at La Casa. I fed children at lunch, tutored them with their homework, played soccer and just hung out with them. They do not have many male role models in their life. Many kids were still hungry after their meals. Many would cry so much that they wouldn’t eat. Soles in their shoes were close to breaking and their clothes did not always fit properly. Most importantly they lacked the love of a family. If they are not adopted by the age of 12 they move to another home where they stay till they turn 18. Once they are 18 they are free to live on their own. I am blessed to have been adopted into a home where I have food, clothes and a loving family. It is my mission to do what I can to help. I work to spread the message of MasPaz, by sharing a positive message and my story to the world along with a quarterly donation to my orphanage, raised with 5% of all income gained from paintings, projects and my online store.»

piece (short form of masterpiece) A large, complex, and laborintensive graffiti painting. Pieces often incorporate 3-D effects, arrows, and many colors and color-transitions, as well as various other effects. These will usually be done by writers with more experience. Originally shorthand for masterpiece, considered the full and most beautiful work of graffiti. A piece requires more time to paint than a throw-up. If placed in a difficult location and well executed it will earn the writer more respect. Piece can also be used as a verb that means: «to write».

MAS PAZ

76 78

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

MAS PAZ

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

MAS PAZ

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

FELIPE CALDERON

- planet express italic

80 82

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Family type designed by Felipe Calder贸n. This type is a display with a modern style and a different and innovative concept. The development of this type was a challenge because it was set out from the begining as a script font with ornaments and complements, where the round shapes do not have prominence in the result. Planet Express is an interesting job from the aesthetic point of view, it works for big scale texts and contains little shadow-cuts in each character to give it more personality and stand out among other fonts from this gender. I hope this new project works to solve issues in design.

Foundry details Location: Calder贸n Estudio Type Foundry Colombia

Planet Express is composed of Regular & Italics, it has 250 intelligent ligatures to produce the best signs in big scale, it is perfect for branding and works very well with the geometric complements. It is designed with programming in opentype: Ligatures, Discretionary ligatures, Stylistic Alternates, multiple language support and a complete set of extras like arrows, catchwords, flags, emblems, hands, fleurons & crossed elements. Planet Express can be used in different ways, each character pretends to cover the needs in any circumstance where it is used. It is funny to write words and play with the complements. It also works with current concepts in graphic design like sports, cars, hip hop, music, social network, skateboarding and more.

Designers: Felipe Calder贸n Design date: 2014 Publisher: Calder贸n Estudio Type Foundry

MAS PAZ

160PT

120 PT

110PT

80PT

72PT

36PT

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- bogota

82 84

dress-up

NOMADA

domming

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

Bastardilla is a street artist native of Bogotà in Colombia. Anonymous and committed, she paints women’s portraits in the streets of her city but also in other cities of the world.

dress-up To completely write all over a specific area like a door-way, wall or window that is untouched. domming A colour-mixing technique done by spraying one colour over another while it is still wet, then rubbing the two together. Sometimes an abrasive like sand is used to create different effects. The term is derived from «condom,» as a reference to its synonym rubber and is sometimes called fingering, as it is commonly done with one’s fingers.

NOMADA

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

NOMADA

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

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NOMADA

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- rock and cola pro

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Rock and Cola’s design is clearly inspired by the sinuous shapes of the world’s most famous drink’s logo. It however does not pretend to copy it faithfully or to serve as a platform to generate the logo itself. Rock and Cola is a very elegant Script font with great weight and contrast. Its OpenType features include ligatures, swashes, alternative characters, ornaments and accents in order to support many foreign languages. It has huge possibilities for application in logos, titles and short texts by generating in them great impact and recalling.

Designers: Manuel Eduardo Corradine Design date: 2009 Publisher: Corradine Fonts

MANUEL CORRADINE

Foundry details Location: Corradine Fonts Carrera 17 No. 42-03 Bogota, Colombia

NOMADA

144PT

72PT

48PT

36PT

24PT

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

OBISK 90 92

going over

- bogota

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

French graffitero de Strasbourg and the Northern East of France. Has been graffitying in Bogota several times before.

going over To «go over» a piece of graffiti simply means to paint on top of it. While most writers respect one another’s artwork, to intentionally and disrespectfully paint on top of another’s work is akin to a graffiti declaration of war. However (due partially to the limited amount of desirable wall-space) most graffiti writers maintain a hierarchy of sorts; a tag can legitimately be covered by a throw-up, and a throw-up by a piece, and this is commonly done without incident. If a piece has previously been slashed (or «dissed»), it is also acceptable for another writer to go over it.

OBISK

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

OBISK

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

OBISK

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- bloque 3D

96 98

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Designers: Manuel Eduardo Corradine Design date: 2009 Publisher: Corradine Fonts

MANUEL CORRADINE

Foundry details Location: Corradine Fonts Carrera 17 No. 42-03 Bogota, Distrito Capital 11001000 Colombia

OBISK

144PT

72PT

48PT

36PT

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roller

- bogota

98 100

punition

PEZ

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

Pez’ (Spanish for ‘fish)(born 1976) is a Spanish graffiti artist. He started painting graffiti in 1999 in his hometown Barcelona. Specifically, he got into street art writing his signature, which soon took the shape of a fish. «Little by little his tags turned into the shape of a smiling blue fish, and he became a celebrity throughout Barcelona».Writing that peculiar signature, and influenced by comic and urban subcultures, he is interested in searching for a character whose language was universal. This was the born of his famous character. He find the universal and timeless language onto the smile. Pez was born! A fish character with a huge smile. In 2006, he travels to South America to paint in Caracas, Bogota and Lima. During the last years, Pez has exhibited in Bogotá, Barcelona, Hamburg, Paris, London, NY, Portland and Los Angeles. As a result of focus on spread his «good vibes» further than streets and galleries with the objective to «talk» with more people around the world, in 2011 he decided to create his own line of products: graffiti spray cans, backpacks, mobile cases, apparel, plushies, ...Nowadays, Pez is showing his art in galleries, festivals, international art fairs and art auctions.

punition Form of graffitti which consists in repeating the same word endlessly covering a whole surface. It comes from the punition lines that kids do at school. roller An enormous piece done with a paint roller instead of aerosol. These are usually completed in very simplified letter forms that resemble font, but can occasionally be very intricate and complex.

PEZ

100 102

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

PEZ

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- bolita 1

104 106

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE

Designers: María Angélica Estrada Cano, Carlos Fabián Camargo Guerrero Design date: 2008-2009 Publisher: Mariaes

MARIA ANGELICA ESTRADO CONO

PEZ

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Fernando Forero

106 108

urbania publisher fernando forero

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

landmark

108 110

RODEZ - bogota

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

Colombian-born artist Rodez is 50 years old and is also father to street artists Nomada and Malegria with whom he works the streets’ walls. Both his sons studied at the University National in Colombia, a centre for intelligence and leftist thought in the country. Together they often travel to Buenos Aires in nearby Argentina to paint and to teach. His surreal creations are often creatures with multiple eyes, his ‘animales fantasticos’.

pichação Brazilian name for the unique form of tagging found in that country. The style has now been extended and attributed to America latina in general. It is a specific approach to tagging and typography, which includes an ethnic background.

RODEZ

110 112

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

RODEZ

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- hexagona digital bold 114 116

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Hexagona Digital is based on a net of regular hexagons, thinking of a Liquid Crystal Screen whose pixels are illuminated to conform the letters. Designers: Manuel Eduardo Corradine Design date: 2007 Publisher: Corradine Fonts

MANUEL CORRADINE

Foundry details Location: Corradine Fonts Carrera 17 No. 42-03 Bogota, Distrito Capital 11001000 Colombia

RODEZ

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SHOT DMENTE back to back

116 118

- baranquilla

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

Part of the SINFINCRU Graffiti artist originating from Baranquilla Colombia.

back to back Graffiti that covers a wall from end to end, as seen on some parts of the West-Berlin side of the Berlin Wall. Similarly, trains sometimes receive end to end painting when a carriage has been painted along its entire length. This is often abbreviated as e2e. End to ends used to be called window-downs but this is an older expression that is falling from popularity.

SHOT DMENTE

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

SHOT DMENTE

120 122

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SHOT DMENTE

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- sintra regular 122 124

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Design date: 2009 Publisher: T-26

CARLOS SEGURA

T-26 Segura Incâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Digital Type Foundry started by Carlos Segura in 1994.

SHOT DMENTE

144PT

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U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

burner

- peru

124 126

tinted shades

ELLIOT TUPAC

THE ARTIST

STYLE

DEFINITION

Elliot Tupac creates designs influenced from 12 years Lettering and Typographies for Posters Alcoholic maize drink; these posters gain popularity in the 80s decade arising from a social context marked by the musical tropical Andean phenomenon or « alcoholic maize drink » with important groups like the Shapis, The Ovnis, Happiness, Vico and his group Karicia among others. From 2004 Elliot Tupac claims the art of the « Posters Alcoholic maize drinks » and starts alternating with plastic artists of Peru and of other parts of the world; he realizes murals for Claudia Llosa’s movie « Madeinusa » and the award winner « The Scared Teat ». This Year 2010 he creates the design and impression of the front page for the prestigious English magazine « Creative Review ». In October he realizes three important activities in Chile: Workshop, chat and exhibition, under the sponsorship of the Major University of Chile, the supplement « We » « Are » of the diary « The Trade » and he entrusted the design of the front page. Hereby the designs are great for Chilean magazines and of the world with his singular style focused in the thematic Alcoholic maize drink and his obsession in the Typographies.

burner A large, more elaborate type of piece. The piece could be said to be « burning » out of the wall, billboard, or train-side. Because they take so much time and effort, burners in downtown areas are more likely to be legal pieces, painted with the consent of the property owner. The early writers of New York also did burners illegally on trains, and adventurous modern writers sometimes still do large scale illegal pieces in heavily-trafficked areas.

ELLIOT TUPAC

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

ELLIOT TUPAC

128 130

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

ELLIOT TUPAC

130 132

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COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Letrista Script is a product of observation and sensitivity of sign painter artists not only from United States but from other parts of the world, where the brushstrokes letters have reached a high level of importance in different context, where the writing makes fundamental part.

Foundry details Location: Calderón Estudio Type Foundry Colombia

With more than 1000 glyphs, this typography was created to achieve a unique texture without losing the legibility or force, to interact with the alternation of decorative characters and adornment that will surprise. After a year of working and checking with many artists, Letrista Script come up to the public with the guarantee of being an useful tool in your computer in the design time. When you know it, you surely won’t stop using it, because of its beautiful characters and great texture. It is full of surprises and facilities for the users. Letrista Script includes standard ligatures, stylistics alternatives, discretionary ligatures, swashes, titling alternates and terminal forms, Stylistic Set 1, 2, 3 and 4, ornaments and a complete package of Catch Words.

- letrista script

FELIPE CALDERON

ELLIOT TUPAC

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Carlos Segura

132 134

janus font publisher T-26

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- bogota

VERTIGO 134 136 THE ARTIST

STYLE

It is a crew that from 2008 bringing together eight of the best artists graffiti of Colombia - in terms of experience, street work, style and personality - to develop the art graffiti nationally across the collaboration and conjunction of shades. Its aim is to show that the Colombian graffiti is a protagonist in the new world trends of this genre and that, it holds a social impact as an artistic expression of high place. Dizziness Graffiti is a testimony that motivates the young persons in order that they insist on the sincere and honourable profession of urban artist.

crew A crew, krew, or cru is a group of associated writers or graffiti artists that often work together. Often crews will recruit new members over time in order to maintain their relevance. There is a smaller risk of being held responsible for crew works if a single member gets arrested. From a legal point of view, the name could have been painted by anyone in the group.

MANIFESTO 1. Censurados desde el siglo V. 2. Nuestra oficina es la calle. Bienvenido. 3. Publicidad 365 - 24/7 4. Respeta. Serás respetado. 5. El gran muro es el mundo. 6. Galerías públicas, educación gratuita. 7. Pinto, luego existo. 8. Uniforme: máscara, guantes, latas y piernas. 9.Graffiti: amor y odio a primera vista. 10. Libertad de expresión sin preservativos.

DEFINITION

dress-up To completely write all over a specific area like a door-way, wall or window that is untouched.

VERTIGO

dress-up crew

136 138

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

VERTIGO

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

VERTIGO

140 142

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- mayonez black italic

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Mayonez is a typeface with rational structure and axis but softened with rounded contours and cupped serifs, getting as result a balance between seriousness and friendliness. The shapes have a soft appearance but without lacking definition. A more fluid structure influenced by calligraphy is proposed for the italic variants, in this case the uppercase letters adopted a simplified semiserif structure that works better with the lowercase letters. Also the figures are very different from the roman version and follow more faithfully the italic style. In an attempt to give Cyrillic lowercase romans a fresh look, symmetrical serifs inherited from the versal tendency are mostly avoided thus getting simpler structures closer to the latin forms. This type is good for commercial and editorial uses like advertising, packaging and pages with showy headlines where a warm touch wants to be given. The character set includes a group of figures and currency symbols with standard height and another suited to match better with lowercase letters.

SERGIO RAMIREZ

Designers: Sergio RamĂrez Design date: 2013 Publisher: Sardiez

VERTIGO

144PT

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Carlos Fabian Camargo

142 144

leroy black publisher Andinistas

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

German Olaya

144 146

esso 4 publisher Typo5

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

heavens domming

YURIKA 146 148

- bogota

THE ARTIST

STYLE

Graphic designer and graffiti writer.

domming A colour-mixing technique done by spraying one colour over another while it is still wet, then rubbing the two together. Sometimes an abrasive like sand is used to create different effects. The term is derived from «condom,» as a reference to its synonym rubber and is sometimes called fingering, as it is commonly done with one’s fingers.

Contact: xyurikax@gmail.com facebook.com/Yurikauno

DEFINITION

heaven spots Pieces that are painted in hard-toreach places such as rooftops and freeway signs, thus making them hard to remove.

YURIKA

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

YURIKA

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

YURIKA

U R B A N COLOMBIAN T Y P O G R A P H Y

- toxic regular

152 154

COLOMBIAN TYPEFACE Designers: Manuel Eduardo Corradine Design date: 2009 Publisher: Corradine Fonts

Foundry details Location: Corradine Fonts Carrera 17 No. 42-03 Bogota, Distrito Capital 11001000 Colombia phone: +571 2458588 fax: +571 6269410

MANUEL CORRADINE

YURIKA

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Maria Angelica Estrado Cono

154 156

margara small caps black publisher Mariaes

This book is a work compilation of research and browsing through the graffiti culture of Colombia, and its booming effet not only in America Latina, but its impact and echo over the world underground expressionism. I chose to compare it to its legal ascendant, typography, as well as the professional and more academical approach to letters. Both are, together, a paradox, oscillating between legal and illegal, free and ruled over, amateur and skilled. Nevertheless, graffiti and typography have never been so close, and influenced by each other. This book is an experimental approach to inspiration and creativity, simply trying to prove that progress is nowadays, hybrid and everywhere.