35+ Street Art & Graffiti Terms

Street Art and Graffiti Terms from A to Z

A

  • Aerosol / Spray Paint - The primary medium used in graffiti and street art; paint in a pressurized can.
  • Abstract / Abstract Graffiti - Graffiti that focuses on shapes, colors, and forms rather than letters or characters.

C

  • Character - Illustrated figure or cartoon included in a graffiti piece.
  • Crew (CRW) - A group of graffiti artists who work together or share a common name/tag.
  • Collaboration - Two or more artists working together on a piece.
  • Commissioned - Legally created artwork requested by a client or project.

E

  • Electricity Box - A utility box transformed into an artwork through painting, often preventing posters, stickers, or vandalism.

F

  • Floor Mural - A large-scale artwork painted on a horizontal surface, such as basketball courts.

G

  • Geoglyph - A large-scale design visible from far above, created on the ground dhrough digging the earth or arranging stones.
  • Graffiti - Writing, drawing, or marking public surfaces without permission; the broader term for the subculture.
  • Graffiti Style - Distinctive lettering, tagging, or character style unique to a writer or crew.
  • Guerilla Art - Street art installed secretly, often politically or socially motivated.

H

  • Heaven / Heaven Spot - A high and difficult-to-reach location for graffiti.
  • Hidden Spot - A lesser-known place known only to insiders of the graffiti scene, often featuring more experimental artworks
  • Hot Spot - Locations with a high concentration of street art, graffiti, or creative activity, often known as key places within the local scene.

I

  • Installation - 3D or physical artwork placed in public spaces.

L

  • Large-scale Mural - huge artworks on walls, mostly commissioned and legally created.
  • Legal Wall - Surfaces where graffiti or street art is allowed or tolerated.
  • Lettering - The stylized text that forms the core of most graffiti.

M

  • Masterpiece / Piece - Large, detailed, and artistic graffiti works.
  • Mosaic - A common alternative to spray painting, using glass or ceramic pieces to create long-lasting artworks in public spaces.
  • Mural - A professionally created artwork on a wall; can be commissioned or illegal.

N

  • Name / Tag - The unique identifier of a graffiti artist.

O

  • Overpainting / Overwriting - Covering someone else’s work, sometimes as rivalry.

P

  • Piece / Masterpiece - Elaborate, colored graffiti work, often combining letters and characters.
  • Politic Graffiti - Graffiti or street art with a political message, often addressing social issues, protests, human rights, or public debates. Many politic graffiti writers identify more as activists than as artists.

S

  • Stencil / Stencil Graffiti - Pre-cut template used to spray repeatable images or patterns.
  • Street Art - Visual art created in public spaces, often with social or political messaging.
  • Street Art Festival - Organized event where street artits create, exhibit, and perform publicly.
  • Sticker - Adhesive labels used for tagging or artistic expression.

T

  • Throw-Up - Quickly executed graffiti, usually bubble letters, often two colors.
  • Tag / Signature - Basic personal identifier of a graffiti artist.

U

  • Underground Graffiti - Graffiti in tunnels, subways, or hidden urban spaces.
  • Urban Art - Art created to shape and influence the city environment.

V

  • Vandal / Illegal Graffiti Artist - Person who creates graffiti without permission.

W

  • Weathering - Natural decay of graffiti due to environmental exposure.
  • Wildstyle - Complex, interlocking letters, often with arrows and flourishes; hard to read for non-writers.
  • Writer / Graffiti Writer - A graffiti artist who primarily creates lettering, tags and pieces, often in illegal contexts.

X

  • X-Tag / Cross Tag - Tag that crosses over another, sometimes marking rivalry or territory.

Y

  • Yard / Graffiti Yard - Designated space where graffiti is practiced freely.

 

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