First thing first, I think I need to note that this post is actually way cooler and less cheesy than it will seem at first, it just takes some time for the awesomeness to sink in.
For years, people have loved the projects that Graffiti Research Labs and F.A.T. have done. GRL’s is probably best known their Laser Tagging device:
And of course there was The EyeWriter Project for Tempt.
Then at Nuart, I saw Graffiti Analysis.
All interesting experiments, but not really anything that could be used by the average person. Well know that’s changed with Graffiti Markup Language (GML). GML is a file type that can store information about graffiti tags. And now you can create your own applications using GML files and GRL and F.A.T. have already released a number of applications to the public.
This film explains this a bit:
GML = Graffiti Markup Language from Evan Roth on Vimeo.
GML files are stored on 000000book.com, where you can see hundreds of digital tags. Those tags can be created on the iPhone with two applications, Fat Tag: Katsu Edition and Graffiti Analysis (a slightly simplified version of the Graffiti Analysis application which is now available for download for your computer). I’ve tried out both apps, and they are pretty cool, but essentially it’s just a fun way to draw on your iPhone.
I realize this probably isn’t the clearest explanation of GML or the applications you can use it with, but that’s in part because the possibilities are pretty endless. As silly as the whole thing sounds, just try out some of the applications and play around on 000000book.com before you rush to judgment (as I originally did, almost laughing the whole thing off).