From modern street graffiti on inner city walls to popup galleries in different urban areas that promote these types of creative works, street art has developed new meaning along the years, expanding its reach in different fields of creativity.
If you start researching the topic, you will discover that at the base of modern street art stands the creative graffiti boom that had taken place in New York during the 70s, movement that included the now popular subway mural of the Bronx.
Self-thought artists with ingenious ideas and an inspiring mindset have been present all over the globe, and today, street art work is more famous than ever thanks to the internet and the many photographs found online that showcase creative projects of popular and unknown street artists. Street art has inspired entire communities for years now, but besides telling an artist’s personal story, graffiti and street art projects have managed doing much more than that.
Various fields of design have been influenced by this form of creative expression, and by looking further into the topic, you will clearly see the connection built. Here’s how what was once considered vandalism is now entering and changing mainstream design trends and movements:
Print design
From popular magazines to common newspapers and doodle art, print design is one of the main branches that stand close to everything street art represents. Because print designers are always trying to maintain their work original and innovative, it’s normal for them to work with unique visuals, and that is what street art has to offer.
From abstract work art to classic graffiti, there are plenty of projects that encompass different types of street art visuals. Now, with graffiti being present on the cover of world famous magazines, you can truly say that street art has started to go in a mainstream direction, and while some artists have accepted this fact, others have started pursuing actions to maintain the unique characteristics of street art movement.
Fashion
Considering the fluctuating and artsy nature of the fashion industry, it didn’t take long until designers became interested in everything street art stands for and they have started to embrace the current themselves. Fashion has always been considered a less conventional form of art, so the link between graffiti and fashion design has come as a natural one.
Street wear is one of the styles that has been mostly impacted by graffiti artists, and many designers that dedicate themselves to this fashion segments have started to collaborate with artists from this sector. From DC Shoes to Nike and Adidas, carious world famous brands have worked with talented street artists in the development of shoe and clothing collections that are ideal for “street life”.
You now have the possibility to purchase elements that have a unique and authentic creative touch given by well-known artists, such as Mike Giant or Noah. Even brands that you wouldn’t have normally associate with graffiti have directed their attention towards clothing designs with a street artsy touch. One example is Moschino, a high-end brand that decorated a collection of gowns with graffiti tags. Creativity and street art now go hand in hand with fashion designs and unconventional aesthetics.
Advertising
The field of advertising has changed quite a lot over the years. Because ad designers need to maintain their work interesting and innovative, they have started to look for ideas in unconventional places, and the world of street hard has become a great source of inspiration. Big brands are nowadays always on the lookout for great artists to hire them for the creation of intriguing and appealing TV visuals.
Companies are now using street art creations not only in TV advertisement, but in posters, billboards and other forms of printed advertising. And considering the results obtained, it seems like their choice in this department has been well made. Advertising embracing street art is the most obvious indicator of how much things have changed, and how something that was seen as an act of rebellion back in the day has been truly adopted by society.
Music – Artwork for album covers
Considering the relation between graffiti and rap music, it was expected for street art to start making its way into the music industry. Record labels are frequently partnering up with talented local graffiti artists for the design of album covers. Music design is probably one of the domains where this form of creative expression has had most power over the years.
While street art has first drawn the interest of the hip hop scene, things have evolved tremendously and today, contemporary artists from different genres are working with street artists in the creation of original and inspiring artwork for different albums. With just a simple search on google, you will discover just how many music graphics that fall within this category actually exist nowadays.
Digital media
It’s probably not new information to you that quite a lot of video games have their visuals based on graffiti work. Street art has enabled developers not only to give authenticity to their projects but to make their concept feel more real and attract a wider audience. Graffiti visuals have been adopted, however, by various other digital trends, so you can state that multimedia is another of modern design field that has noticed the potential of graffiti and taken advantage of it. Digital media professionals are continuously working with modern graffiti designs to give new characteristics to their digital creations.
As you can see, street art has had quite the influence when it comes to different branches of design, impacting the creative nature of numerous artists from various fields. Starting with fashion and up to typography, it seems like graffiti has made its way into a wide variety of inspiring projects, and considering the in-depth appeal and meaning behind street art, it’s understandable why.
The now-visible connection between street art and mainstream designs continues to develop even further, so you can expect to discover numerous other creations that unify this relationship and give graffiti an even powerful role.