The Art of the Chaos: Punk Rock’s Timeless Influence on Graphic Design and Marketing
Understanding how one graphic designer captured a voice and defined a generation built on chaos can teach us a thing or two about what it means to make your message heard.
Shaggy spiked hair and studded black leather jackets; motorcycle boots and thick chain necklaces; the permanent expression of anti-establishment disgust. Few cultural movements have had as much impact on modern society as punk rock music.
The story of its influence is mostly a tale of two cities — New York and London — during the mid-1970s, but punk has been a constantly evolving movement, drawing in anyone who rejects the mainstream.
Working class angst, coupled with the frustrations of living underneath the weight of establishment gave birth to punk’s characteristic ideals, sound, and attitude. It was also fertile ground for a new kind of design aesthetic — a communication style that shared the same ideologies that the movement came to represent.
So pull out your favorite Ramones and Sex Pistols records, and crank the volume up to 11. Because the same social, political, and economic unrest that provided the breeding ground for punk rock in the 1970s is back to greet us in 2017. Understanding how one graphic designer captured a voice and defined a generation built on chaos can teach us a thing or two about what it means to make your message heard.
