In designing an advertising poster to show off the unconventional Safefont typeface, Steve drew what appeared as relatively traditional letterforms for the expository text. When these characters were as well received as the typeface which was the subject of the poster, Steve decided to expand them into a full-fledged graffiti style typeface of their own.

While exploring where this new design might lead, Steve worked to elaborate the poster segment which had inspired it. He soon found himself staring at a drawing of a weapons-wielding Bonnie and Clyde. The desperate duo resonated with the graphic elements of the drawn letters; thus leading to the effortless fleshing out of the design, and to its name, Big Clyde.