Turning Revolt Into Style - (Studies in Design and Material Culture) by Russ Bestley

About the Book

A detailed study of the creative ambitions, social and technological constraints behind the evolution of punk and post-punk graphic styles.

Book Synopsis

A detailed study of the creative ambitions, social and technological constraints behind the evolution of punk and post-punk graphic styles.

From the Back Cover

Turning revolt into style: The process and practice of punk graphic designis a ground-breaking analysis of the complex relationship between punk visual aesthetics and the graphic design and print professions, from the innovations 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 Brody, 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 that 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 navigate the music graphics profession in the late 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?

Review Quotes

'Russ Bestley is someone who knows more - and has written more - over the last thirty years about punk, graphic design, and popular culture than Monsieur Mangetout has had odd dinners. In his latest book - Turning Revolt Into Style - he addresses two key questions: how did a generation of young, punk-inspired graphic designers navigate the profession; and how did significant changes in printing technology, labour relations and working practices in the design profession impact their work?
His aim, therefore, is to situate punk's visual aesthetic both within cultural history and the technological, professional, and political contexts that materially shaped it. I'm pleased to say that he achieves this, producing a highly useful punk graphic design historiography in the process.'
Stephen Alexander, International Times

About the Author

Russ Bestley is Reader in Graphic Design & Subcultures at London College of Communication