How Punk Changed Graphic Design

Figure 1 - Tony Moon's "This is a chord" illustration from the zine Sideburn #1

“This is a chord. This is another. This is a third. Now form a band.”

This illustration by Tony Moon for his zine, Sideburn #1, is often cited when typifying the impromptu and DIY nature of the punk subculture. For many, it encapsulates the “deliberately awkward and amateur image” (Bestly, 2020) embraced by many punks in the 1970s/80s as the genre looked for ways to set itself apart from rock music, which was seen as mainstream and complacent. The apparent lack of knowledge or practice was, in many ways, used to signal “outsider” status and denote a separation from mainstream systems of record labels and management.

Alongside the music, a key component of the punk subculture was its visual identity. This was constructed through clothing (such as battle jackets), posters, zines, and album covers. The most well-known technique used in punk’s visual identity was the use of bricolage (Bestly, 2020), which combined different images in a layered, collage style that was visually noisy and broke a lot of established rules of graphic design. The compositions often appeared messy and amateur, although the use of bricolage was also interpreted as an attempt to "disrupt and reorganize meaning" (Hebdige, 1979), suggesting that these techniques and styles were deliberately employed to upset and challenge mainstream culture. This perspective is evidenced by the fact that employing an “amateur” appearance or skill was frequently a deliberate choice, as oftentimes the artwork was created by professional graphic designers or artists.

Figure 2 - A poster advertising a concert that Crass played in 1978

Gee Vaucher and Penny Rimbaud, co-founders of the band Crass, both had graphic design backgrounds which they used to inform the design sensibilities of Crass’ visual identity. Rimbaud recalls the importance his lecturers placed on brands/products having “an instantly recognisable image” (Budrick, 2019), something that informed how they approached the band’s posters and album covers. They intentionally broke basic design rules by using different clashing fonts, having text wind around corners, incorporating photomontage, collage, monochrome and colour in ways that contrasted and grabbed attention from each other. In creating a new visual language that was intentionally abrasive and eye-catching, they helped to create a striking idea of what becomes possible when rules are disregarded, an idea that was supported by other aspects of the punk movement.

Figure 3 - Jamie Reid's design for the album cover of "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols

Another notable example is the Sex Pistols, whose visual style can be credited to the artist Jamie Reid. Reid created the covers for the band’s only studio album (“Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols”) and its singles. The accompanying image for the single “God Save The Queen” is, for many people, synonymous with punk, and demonstrates how Reid pioneered the “ransom-note” style typography that is associated with the subculture today. This design choice once again pointed to the intentionality of the “amateur” design, as Reid deliberately chose to ignore standard industry practice and not to use a typesetter (Lekach, 2014). This allowed him to create the disorganised, freehand text that opposed the neat, legible designs expected at the time.

Figure 4 - Poster for Kleine Dada Soirée by Kurt Schwitters and Theo van Doesburg, 1922-1923. Lithograph. Merrill C. Berman Collection

Reid was also inspired, in part, by the Dadaists (Rosen, 2023) who created anti-war anti-art in the face of WW1. The movement sought to bring light to the senseless violence and “logical nonsense” (Trachtman, 2006) of the contemporary era, finding it impossible to reconcile a society that enthusiastically co-signed war with a society that was logical or understandable. Their art was frequently considered absurdist or incomprehensible, although to the Dadaists, the art was “no more absurd than the war itself” (Tratchman, 2006). Echoes of some Dadaist-era works, especially the typography of Kurt Schwitters and the use of photomontage, can be seen in Reid’s pieces. Schwitters was part of an informal group that created art under the label of New Typography, which explored fonts by incorporating elements of contrast, geometric forms, bold lines, asymmetry, negative space and dynamism (Pröbsting, 2019), much to the chagrin of traditional styles.

Figure 5 - Head by Raoul Hausmann, 1923.

Dadaists also employed photomontage as a way to recontextualise popular imagery and shock viewers by using “distortions of [the bourgeoisie’s] own communication”, employing the “components of familiar realistic photography” and the “familiar lettering of his newspapers” (Rubin, 1968). The Dadaist anti-war sentiment became even more shocking when it was constructed from familiar imagery and typography that viewers would have typically associated with news outlets that supported the war. The use of photomontage/recontextualising existing imagery is also present in the “God Save The Queen” album cover, as the photo was originally taken in 1975 by photographer Peter Grugeon (National Portrait Gallery, 2025) and then reused as part of the album cover, using the portrait that had been favourable of the Queen as the visual for a song that critiques her. This effort to push established rules and explore what is possible instead of what is expected unites Dadaist and some punk graphic designers.

There is, of course, a tension between the posters and album covers that were painstakingly hand-constructed, and the fact that they were then mass-produced as high quality images to be sold on t-shirts, posters, and albums. It is slightly contradictory, given the DIY nature of the subculture, that many of its most iconic images are readily produced for mass consumption.

Figure 6 - Handmade promotional poster for the 6th Youth Explosion gig, a monthly concert held by The Molotovs at my local library where they perform alongside other up and coming bands.

With the prevalence of “God Save The Queen” t-shirts and prints available nowadays, it might be hard to believe that at one point, the song was banned by the BBC and many major retailers refused to stock the single (Rosen, 2023). Equally, with the image now available commercially and worldwide, it could be said that the once shocking visual has lost some of its anti-establishment bite now that it’s openly available on Amazon. However, the popularity of battle jackets, screen-printed t-shirts and posters, and handmade zines within the subculture point to a general spirit of DIY and creativity among the community, even if some elements become elevated to the realm of mass-production as bands rise in popularity and get adopted into the mainstream.

Figure 7 - The album cover for Maggot (2017) by Dazey and the Scouts

What surprises many about punk graphic design is its longevity. Even today, the “outsider art” style typically associated with the movement has given many people the confidence to create outside of the boundaries of typical graphic design and art. Dazey and the Scouts’ album, Maggot (2017), incorporates both the “ransom-note” typography and collage elements of Reid’s work, and draws parallels back to the Dadaist movement with a constructed and confounding collage scene.

Amyl and the Sniffers’ Comfort To Me (2021) features a cartoon portrait of the lead singer twisted beyond recognition - it’s a counter to the albums that choose to prominently display the artist in order to ensure audience recognition and consequently boost sales. Here, a terrifying amalgamation of eyes, pierced ears, and lurid colours make up a barely recognisable face, reminiscent of the Dadaist impulse to distort and mutilate the human body beyond recognition when depicting it (Trachtman, 2006). With the huge amount of acts that continue to take inspiration from the methods, ideals and philosophy of punk design, it’s clear that the style has had a lasting impact on the way people choose to engage with and bend the rules of graphic design.

Figure 9 - MODENSCHAU (Fashion Show) 1925-1935 by Hannah Höch

Figure 8 - The album cover for Comfort To Me (2021) by Amyl and the Sniffers

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Figure 10 - The album cover for Maggot (2017) by Dazey and the Scouts

This post's thumbnail was inspired by Dazey and the Scouts' Maggot (2017) album cover, as the album's cover and music demonstrates the lasting impact of punk music and graphic design by paying homage to it nearly 50 years after its inception.

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Sources:

Bestly, R. (2020). Kicks in Style: A Punk Design Aesthetic. The Oxford Handbook of Punk Rock. Page 3. https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/16178/1/oxfordhb-9780190859565-e-13.pdf

Budrick, C. (2019, June 4). Punk for a Day: Graphic Design History and the Punk Aesthetic. Printmag. https://www.printmag.com/culturally-related-design/punk-aesthetic-graphic-design/

Hebdige, D. (1979) Subculture: The Meaning of Style. Routledge. https://www.erikclabaugh.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/181899847-Subculture.pdf

Lekach, M. (2014). All ripped up: Punk influences on graphic design. 99 designs. https://99designs.com/blog/creative-inspiration/ripped-punk-influences-graphic-design/

National Portrait Gallery. (2025). Queen Elizabeth II. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw204144/Queen-Elizabeth-II?LinkID=mp126605&role=art&rNo=8&_gl=1*ywy9mk*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjQ0NjI0ODc4LjE3NDE5NTc1Mzc.*_ga_3D53N72CHJ*MTc0MTk1NzUzNi4xLjEuMTc0MTk1NzUzOC4wLjAuMA

Pröbsting, H. (2019). Everyday Printed Matter: Kurt Schwitters's Experimental Typography. In M. Forbes (Ed.), International Persepctives on Publishing Platforms Image, Object, Text. Routledge. https://gwern.net/doc/design/typography/2019-probsting.pdf

Rosen, M. (2023, August 11). The Story Behind Jamie Reid's Iconoclastic Sex Pistols Artwork. AnOther. https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/15047/jamie-reid-death-sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen

Rubin, W. (1968). Dada, Surrealism, and their heritage. Museum of Modern Art. https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1884_300299023.pdf

Tratchtman, P. (2006, May). A Brief History of Dada. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/dada-115169154/

Figures:

Figure 1 - Poynor, R and Mott, T. (2016) Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print 1976-1980. Phaidon Press.

Figure 2 - Kugelberg, J and Savage, J. (2012). Punk: An Aesthetic Boo-Hooray.

Figure 3 - Reid, J. (1977). Sex Pistols, God Save the Queen [Lithograph]. MoMA, New York City. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/156133

Figure 4 - Harvard Art Museums. (2016, November 4). Art Study Centre Seminar: Kurt Schwitters, The Ring, and the New Typography. https://harvardartmuseums.org/calendar/art-study-center-seminar-kurt-schwitters-the-ring-and-the-new-typography

Figure 5 - Rubin, W. (1968). Dada, Surrealism, and their heritage. Museum of Modern Art. https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1884_300299023.pdf

Figure 6 - Youth Explosion [youthexplosion_]. (2023, September 2023). "URGENT REMINDER to let YOU know that tickets for youth explosion no.6 are jumping up to £4 tomorrow." [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CxWDyjwNK6Z/

Figure 7 - Dazey and the Scouts. (2017). Maggot [Album]. 16 Entertainment LLC.

Figure 8 - Amyl and the Sniffers. (2021). Comfort To Me [Album]. Rough Trade Records Ltd.

Figure 9 - Makela, M. et al. (1996). The Photomontages of Hannah Höch. Walker Art Centre. https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_241_300063171.pdf

Figure 10 - Dazey and the Scouts. (2017). Maggot [Album]. 16 Entertainment LLC.