Graffitihunt_4

Above: Haarlem 10 minutes ago. Co-graffiti-hunter and writer Melle's bedroom-door.

"The history of subway graffiti in New York is a brief one, and the phenomenon differs from all other kinds of graffiti, both past and present. In the 1960's, teenagers in New York began to write their names on neighbourhood walls, but instead of their given names, they chose nicknames, creating a public identity for the street. Name graffiti initially had a territorial function. Gang members marked out their turf and the local kids wrote for their friends or for their enemies. [...] As available space on walls and trains filled up, it was necessary to develop a style to make a name stand out from the rest. Kids began to practice variations on their names and to develop identifying logos which could be read at glance"

Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant in 'Subway Art',  page 14, first published in Great Brittain by Thames and Hudson Ltd, Londen, 1984

"Empirical research strongly suggests if viewers like a logo, they transfer those positive feelings to the brand associated with it": http://bartvanbroekhoven.com/en-US/running/146-graffitihunt-2