Sticker art (also known as sticker bombing, slap tagging and sticker slapping) is thought to have originated in New York during the 1970s, but early versions of the practice stretch back to feudal Japan.

Early stickers were usually the artist’s tag on paper stickers or wheat-paste posters. Gradually, as more artists adopted the medium, sticker designs became more professional, unique and colourful.

Today, if you wander down any alleyway in any city in the world, and if you keep your eyes peeled, you’re bound to find clusters of quirky, eye-catching images and characters printed on vinyl stickers or US Postal Service labels (label 228).

Here are some of the stickers I spotted during a recent trip to Phuket Old Town: