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AlleyOop
A skate brand pulled out of 1990s graffiti, right at the point the culture went minimal.
Year2022–24
DisciplineBrand
ContextSheffield College — branding brief
RoleBranding, lettering, editorial design
ToolsIllustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Brief
Build a retro-inspired modern skateboarding brand.
Approach
I was looking at 90s skate culture, which was graffiti-led and loud, and caught it right as it started shifting towards minimalism. The brand sits on that hinge: bubble lettering that could have been sprayed on a wall, but placed with a lot of air around it.
I drew the wordmark by hand through pages of sketchbook variants before tightening it up. The colours come from old tinned paint and vandalised pages, burnt orange, teal and cream. I applied it to deck graphics, a magazine cover and editorial spreads under the line 'Skate on the edge'.
Outcome
Wordmark, deck graphics, magazine cover and spreads.
