Russ Bestley

Turning revolt into style

Turning revolt into style: The process and practice of punk graphic designis a comprehensive analysis of punk aesthetics and the subculture’s key watchwords of do-it-yourself, autonomy, and authenticity in relation to the professional practices and technological conventions of the graphic design and print industries in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A groundbreaking analysis of the complex relationship between punk visual aesthetics and the graphic design and print professions, from the innovation of punk DIY pioneers to radical changes in the commercial design industry. These changes reflected not just the influence of an emerging cohort of young designers who aligned themselves with the new subculture but also the advent of new technologies, particularly in the printing industry during the early days of photocomposition and digital reproduction. Drawing on interviews with leading punk and post punk designers including Malcolm Garrett, Bill Smith, Chris Morton, Steve Averill, Mike Coles, Bob Last, Rob O'Connor, Jill Mumford and Neville Bordy along with detailed archival and historical research, this book reveals the implicit tensions between a new creative vanguard and the design establishment, together with the opportunities offered by new technologies and dramatic parallel changes in labour relations and working practices. Along with a close analysis of punk and post punk record covers, fanzines and other artefacts, Turning revolt into style charts the story of a seismic cultural shift thar was to have a lasting impact for decades to come. The text centres on two key questions: how did a new generation of young, punk inspired graphic designers navigates the music graphics profession the lates 1970s and early 1980s? And how did significant changes in printing technology, labour relations and working practices in the design profession impact their work during that period?