Brand advertising and graffiti tagging are similar pursuits that interrupt our urban landscape. A tag is like a logo for a graffiti writer. It’s everywhere. It’s repeated consistently. And the writer wants you to recognize it. The tag becomes a symbol for the person. What happens when tagging is subjected to today’s trend of modernist redesigns popularized by the internet and brands? Through a 100 day project called Neomodernist Graffiti Tagging, I explored this design approach on the tags I encountered walking around cities. The resulting 100+ redesigns and my thoughts were collected into a book, published through Blurb.

Tim Belonax is a designer and educator (and past TDC competition winner) based in San Francisco. He is currently on the brand team at Pinterest and teaches graphic design at California College of Art. Tim is a board member for the San Francisco Center for the Book and was previously the Social Impact co-chair for AIGA SF. Most recently he was Graphic Design Lead at Airbnb where his work focused on the intersection of art, design, and culture. Previously, he was a Communication Designer at Facebook and Principal Designer of the Analog Research Lab. He has a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and his bookshelves are organized by color.
www.timbelonax.com