Blank Generation

Richard Hell & The Voidoids

title: Blank Generation
artiste/band: Richard Hell & The Voidoids
record label: Stiff Records
   format: 7" EP (33 1/3 rpm)
   release date: Nov-76
   misc: originally: Another World EP

brief / approach

…Jake Riviera’s brief for the design – as he handed me the photo – was to play on the fact that Richard Hell was the first person to have a ‘punk hair style’ when he ‘cut’ his own hair (off) with a razor blade – effectively inventing the punk look (he also was one of the first to use safety pins – holding together a ripped t-shirt…)

…consequently I did the logo using Rapidograph pens (0.2, 0.3 & 0.5mm nibs) for the hand-drawn lines & dots

backstory

…this record was released before we had any graphic design equipment at Stiff never mind an ‘art dept’ where you could design & make the artwork for printing using analogue photographic methods – all the cover’s design elements were hand-drawn and we gave those bits to the now legendary Pete Frame (aka Banger Grafix) who knew a printer who could professionally assemble them as ‘photo-mechanical’ artwork so it could be printed (see the ‘How to make a record cover before photoshop’ section for further details and an explanation…)

…incidentally, the ‘Limited Edition’ was confined to only that one number on the back cover…