A Designer Is Instagramming The Embarrassing Things People Say In Public

You never know just who's listening.

This is Mete Erdogan, a Brooklyn-based designer who is probably listening in on your conversations. He then takes to his Instagram, Eavesdropper, to illustrate them.

Erdogan, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, originally started drawing typography of people's laughably candid statements just to improve his hand-lettering skills. But then people started wanting more.

"I chose to document overheard conversations because they're so honest and expressive," he told BuzzFeed News.

Erdogan's locations often seem to match the overheard statement. This one about hipsters took place at Brooklyn Brewery.

"I'll hear things everywhere," Erdogan said, "from elevators, when I'm grabbing lunch, at a video game store or on the subway."

The 26-year-old, who is a director and designer at Saatchi & Saatchi, said sometimes people who know about his project will even try to talk within his earshot to get onto the series.

"They might make the cut one day," he said.

Though the series is rooted in nosiness, he doesn't feel any guilt about repurposing people's private conversations.

"It's hard not to take notice when I hear something funny or memorable," he said. "There are no bad intentions."

Skip to footer