Graffiti Consumer Insights

Implications - Transitioning away from the simplistic black and white interpretation of minimalism, marbled surfaces alongside brass accents are infusing modern design with touches of glamor. Maintaining the clean and effortless feel the modern minimalist aspires to, marble patterns create dynamic texture for the eye to travel along, while notes of brass and copper incorporate a sense of richness, mirroring the rose gold hue prevalent within the fashion industry. This up-leveled aesthetic predicates new shifts within the minimalist movement.

Implications - Moving beyond shock value and anti-establishment sentiment, street artists are using romantic imagery to draw emotion from viewers. Referencing themes like love, artists are using public spaces to send a more heartfelt message to viewers.

Implications - Car culture is fanatical in itself, which is something that artists are using to their advantage by transforming vehicles into literal works of art. As mediums like graffiti and urban art gain mainstream acceptance, the re-conceptualization of the ordinary as abstract is garnering the attention of consumers for being familiar, but also distinctly original.

Implications - Speaking to a consumer's sense of nostalgia and the ever-present status of fast food in America, artists are remixing fast food culture as a means of creating cross-cultural community connections. The use of fast food imagery in niche art communities solidifies their status as mainstay images and does double duty as breaking down the barrier between brand and consumer by reinforcing approachability.

Implications - Though the dialogue around environmentalism has never been more ubiquitous, those invested in the cause are turning to more unexpected ways of getting the message across, like graffiti. This edgy approach is not only more intriguing to viewers, but creates an appealing air of exclusivity to those invested in environmentalism by attaching itself to a sub-culture.

Implications - Last year, Trend Hunter noted how shoe brands are teaming up with famous street artists to create eye-catching and unique graffiti-like designs for their products. Now, brands are going one step further and taking street art into their own hands, creating large public displays that take on stunning visual effects or look as if they could have been executed by Banksy. This method of artvertising allows a brand to align itself with street culture, appealing to consumers who love public art statements and tend to ignore more traditional branding and marketing displays.

Implications - Artists are using camouflage to depict subjects that are supposed to blend in but in actuality jump off their canvases. The images allude to a continuous, internal human conflict: to blend in or stand out? They highlight the consumer desire to “fit in” with the rest of society, yet also set himself apart as an individual. Such a concept can be translated to mass-produced goods that also offer customization options or individual attention-grabbing accents—these let the consumer blend in with her peers but express herself at the same time.

Implications - You can do much more with digital art software than you can do with a can of spray paint. While most infamous street artists are happy to stick to their traditional mediums, other artists, as well as many consumers, are taking to virtual and digital tools to create graffiti art. Whether it is light graffiti or simulated street art via a projector, digital graffiti is changing the traditional definition of street art, and encouraging the participation of those who may have otherwise struggled with a real spray can.

Implications - Graffiti used to be a form of self-expression and commentary; now, it may be a commercial force to be reckoned with. Recognizing the cultural phenomenon of graffiti, major brands—especially footwear brands—are collaborating with popular and infamous street artists on designs, providing customers with items that speak to rebellion, individualism and expression. The purpose of graffiti may never have been to sell products, but that is exactly what it’s doing.

Implications - The negative connotation behind street art is being alleviated with the development of semi-permanent alternatives. Though graffiti is a respected art form among many consumer groups, some still view it as vandalism, and alternative methods of urban marking serve as a more “polite” way to create graffiti. As such, this far-reaching urban subculture needs not to change, but to adapt.