Sticker culture and its typographic articulation: Politics, football and identity of place in the Ruhr Area

This article explores the typographic articulation of stickers in urban spaces of the Ruhr Area, Germany. Drawing on a data set of 5156 geo-referenced self-authorized stickers, it investigates their occurrence, languages and geographic locations, as well as their graphic means and typographic particularities. The study employs a multi-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis of image data with interviews. It examines how stickers differ from other signs in urban space and analyses the themes negotiated on stickers, focusing on politics, football and identity of place. The article demonstrates how typography and graphic design are used to communicate visually and support linguistic messages effectively. It highlights the role of typefaces in conveying ideology, the use of graphic citations for intertextual meaning-making, and visual strategies for the creation of place identity. The findings show that stickers are a unique medium in linguistic landscapes, reflecting social structures, political tensions, territorial marking and local self-representation through (typo)graphic elements.