Soul Artists: A Tribute to NYC’s Underground Legends

Skate decks, subway grit, and the spirit of Zoo York.

The Vibe

A raw, rebellious merch line inspired by the OG icons of NYC skate and graffiti culture. Designed
for skaters who treat the city like a playground and their board like a protest.

The Backstory

This project started as a school assignment, but ended up unlocking my love for merch design.

The challenge? Create a full-on skate deck + merch line for Chapman Skateboards. The direction? Whatever we wanted.

I went deep into the archives of NYC skate history and found the Soul Artists — a crew of skaters and graffiti writers who gathered in subway tunnels under Central Park in the 1970s. That space became known as Zoo York, and their legacy still echoes in skate culture today.

I wanted to pay homage to that grit, rebellion, and DIY energy with a modern twist.

The Strategy

Color Palette: Urban tones mixed with bright graffiti. All texture, no fluff.

Typography: Hand-drawn lettering inspired by old trains and alleyway murals.

Deck Design: Combines layered textures, skate photography, and minimal branding — like something you'd see flying down an empty Brooklyn stair set.

T-Shirt + Hangtag: Designed to look like a band tee you thrifted in high school and never took off. The hangtag pulls from classic skate shop aesthetics with a modern flip.

Webstore Mockup: Clean layout with raw elements — the kind of digital experience that says “underground but legit.”

The Glow-Up

This project lit the spark for my merch design obsession. It showed me how a good product becomes a piece of culture when you anchor it in something real.

Skaters don’t care about trends, they care about truth. This was my first time building that into a design.