April 6, 2016
The D Word: Inventive
Although Verve was a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of Hollywood’s most establishment, commercial entertainment studios, the graphics for Zappa’s record cover and promotion were suitably rebellious, having spiritually borrowed from Dada and surrealist pictographic absurdity combined with the underground press’ boisterous, unschooled anarchy.
But the pièce de résistance of anti-design was the lettering for the title featuring letters that seem to emulate real display type, but also throw standards of proportion and balance to the wind. And as is often the case with hard-to-read typography (although this is perfectly discernable), the title is also set small in a light line gothic face, albeit with extra EEEEEs. As anti-establishment as it is, the ad codifies the prevailing aesthetic of the time.
Observed
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Observed
By Steven Heller
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