Ben Gibb

Underground

Bachelor of Design Publication Print Zine Speculative Collaborative

A look at skateboarding culture in Auckland, NZ

Underground explores the Auckland skateboarding scene through interviews, photography, and artwork from significant figures within the scene. This culture is something that I have been involved with for some time, and I wanted to express it through something physical. My main influence for this project was punk and grunge style design, such as 1970s punk music fanzines and more recent grunge publications like Raygun. This style of design inspired me to ditch conventional methods for creating a publication and work by manipulating my content manually. This helped me to understand my earlier research into punk typography, as I used similar methods such as photocopying and scanning to emulate the gritty and experimental feel that defines grunge design.

Underground is an exploration of graphic design conventions and techniques from punk zines of the 1970s. This project features an in-depth look into skateboarding culture in Auckland, New Zealand, and adapts punk and grunge aspects to a small magazine format. Underground features interviews and photography from individuals with significant influence within the skateboarding scene to offer fresh perspectives about skateboarding in New Zealand. This collaborative concept displays the sense of community within skate culture, something that shares similar values to the punk movement.

This publication uses physical manipulation of images, such as photocopying and scanning, to emulate and adapt skateboarding-based content into the style and format of a punk zine. These print and copy methods create textures and small imperfections in the imagery and text, which link back to grunge aesthetics. The hands-on design of the publication also pays homage to the rough nature of both punk and skateboarding cultures. The aim of this publication is to show a side of local skate culture that is lesser-known, touching on niche aspects of the underground.