Compose styles
Rather than blending styles toward a middle, this gives them roles. The first one carries the structure, the next comes in as the accent, and anything after that shows up in a single detail. Where they fight each other, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Punk: Deliberate misalignment and overlap; disturb even the margins
- Type
- Set in Punk's manner (Mix newsprint letters, handwriting and stamps), and let Swiss's lettering (Neutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Punk's material (Copier paper, tears, black plus a warning color); bring in exactly one thing from Swiss (White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament).
- Colour
- Build on #eee3cf, #ef3127, #10100f and admit one accent from #f1efe8, #ed3b22, #121210.
Where they fight
- Punk and Swiss share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over.
Caution
- Punk Borrowed rebellion is hollow. Decide what you are protesting first.
- Swiss Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Punk (style, 1970s–1980s) and their accent from Swiss (style, 1950s–). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Punk exists for: voicing dissent against the rules, or giving events and communities a raw voice. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Punk - Cut-and-paste letters - Photocopier noise - Handwriting - Ragged placement Composition: Deliberate misalignment and overlap; disturb even the margins. Type and lettering: Mix newsprint letters, handwriting and stamps. ## Accent comes from Swiss, used sparingly - Strict grid - Sans-serif type - Asymmetry - Objective photography Let one material quality come from it: White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #eee3cf, carry the structure in #ef3127 and #10100f, and let a single accent come from #ed3b22. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: rebellion, exhilaration, trust, calm. ## Where they fight - Punk and Swiss share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over. ## What goes wrong - Punk: Borrowed rebellion is hollow. Decide what you are protesting first. - Swiss: Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale. ## Across the four Keep the roles fixed in all four. Vary the framing, the scale and the arrangement so the set shows what this pairing can do rather than four versions of one picture. ## Constraints - Do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. - Do not reproduce the composition of an existing work. - Produce original compositions in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Punk 1970s–1980s / Style / Counterculture
A DIY objection to the authority of the tidy, made by cutting, pasting and dirtying.
- Swiss 1950s– / Style / Functionalism
Puts order front and center and makes the information itself the protagonist.
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