For Japanese brand Uniqlo we created our award winning design to capture an essence of punk viewed from a uniquely minimal perspective
1972 - Graphic design for apparel - for Uniqlo
Product Design
Design Outcome: Printed Graphic Tee
Capturing an essence
Tasked with creating a design based on the Sex Pistols our approach was to explore the ideas and symbols synonymous with the era of punk. The safety pin in clothing is usually attributed to the likes of the Sex Pistols and Richard Hell, who's career began in 1972 and where the design's name is derived.
"Safety pins to prevent the arse of your pants falling out." - Johnny Rotten
The safety pin motif encapsulated both the idea of pragmatism made famous by Johnny Rotten's quote and the idea of an alternative way of thinking outside of social norms.
Technique and Interpretation
With the safety pin traditionally having minimal design appeal however having been repurposed and reinvented as a design object by the punk movement and later mainstream designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs we explored this idea further through a flattening and abstraction of its form.
"The design idea is at its most expressive when free of extraneous content."
The main body of the object is reduced to a silhouette but is still immediately recognisable and clear against the black backdrop of the fabric. The slightly straight lines of its edges are reminiscent of a cut piece of paper or fabric further simplifying its form and reducing it to a logo or symbol.
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