Fanzinetastic web design! Raw inspiration from back in the day

When I was growing up in the 1980s in a steel-making town that had lost its steelworks, music was one of the only forms of escapism most young people could afford. The town was full of local bands that shared and swapped equipment and members, and there was a thriving subculture of fanzines and fly posters printed in garages and community centers.

The world of printing a fanzine in a garage might seem far distant from today’s online publishing platforms and website-building tools. But today, when so much product design is clinical and conversion-focused, something is appealing about a fanzine’s anti-design approach. So let’s see what we can learn from fanzine design that can inspire us to make better, more creative website designs.

Fanzines are self-published magazines produced by fanatical individuals or small groups. They emerged as a way for niche communities to express their creativity, interests, and opinions, free from the constraints of mainstream media.

Fanzines were created using basic tools, which, in a garage in the 1980s, included photocopied images cut out with scissors, hand-lettered covers and headlines, and Letraset dry transfer or typewriter text. Letraset manufactured sheets of typefaces and other artwork. Fanzine creators used its dry rub-down transfer technique because it was easy to use, cheap, and produced excellent results.

Fanzines today cover many topics, from art and music to activism and subcultures. Their authenticity makes them unique—they’re passionate, personally expressive, raw, and unfiltered, and this spirit of self-expression can inspire contemporary website design.

On the face of it, the fanzine aesthetic is inherently rebellious, contrasting starkly with the conventional look of commercial publications. For me, a fanzine‘s charm lies in what some might see as its imperfections:

This raw, unrefined style exudes authenticity and individuality, making it highly engaging. For example, Sniffin’ Glue (1976–1977) was a seminal punk zine founded by Mark Perry, documenting the early UK punk scene. It featured raw, handwritten reviews and band interviews, capturing the DIY spirit of punk.

Every page offers a window into the creator’s thoughts, and this kind of creativity is again becoming crucial in web design as brands seek to establish distinctive online personas. By channeling the unfiltered authenticity of a fanzine, you can stop designing commodity websites and instead deliver memorable digital experiences.

Fanzines originated in the 1930s among science fiction enthusiasts. They provided a platform for sharing stories, reviews, and discussions. In the 1990s, Kathleen Hanna and her bandmates in the Riot Grrrl movement created the Bikini Kill feminist zine, discussing sexism, empowerment, and punk culture.

The punk rock movement of the 1970s was pivotal in shaping today’s fanzine culture. Punk zines, such as the UK’s Sniffin’ Glue, captured the DIY spirit by employing cut-and-paste methods that mirrored the music’s energy and rawness. This established fanzines as a medium for rebellion and self-expression, motivating creators to pick up scissors and squirt (or sometimes sniff) glue to share their stories. One long-running example is Maximum Rocknroll (1982–present), a punk and hardcore zine based in San Francisco, covering global punk scenes, activism, and music reviews.

As subcultures diversified, so did fanzines. Beyond punk, they became vehicles for feminist movements, graffiti, political activism, and skateboarding. Production became easier when desktop publishing appeared in the 1980s, but the handmade aesthetic remained. Today, there’s been a resurgence in fanzines, which are celebrated as counterculture artifacts and creative outlets.

Fanzine creators often rely on basic materials like pens, markers, and scissors, influencing the handmade aesthetic. Pages are filled with doodles, hand-drawn illustrations, and scribbles, giving each fanzine a personal touch. They often use collages—made from magazine clippings or photographs—to add depth and texture.

This layered mixed-media approach feels authentic and spontaneous. Adapting these techniques—like layering digital elements or using custom illustrations—can add personality and an authentic user experience to your designs.

Fanzines embrace imperfection, with authenticity and personality in its flaws. Crooked text, uneven lines, and rough cut-outs aren’t mistakes—they’re deliberate choices that highlight individuality. This rejection of polished perfection gives fanzines an energy that resonates with their audience. Adopting a similar approach in website design can make your websites feel more authentic and approachable. Whether using asymmetrical layouts, hand-drawn elements, or irregular shapes, imperfection can help create a unique visual identity. It also challenges the idea that digital design must always be flawless, opening up new creative possibilities.

Typography in fanzines is anything but traditional. Text is often distressed, plastered over images, and oversized, making it a central design element. Fonts can clash or appear chaotic, which adds to the energy of their design. Similarly, fanzine layouts reject conventional grids in favor of freeform arrangements. Text and images might overlap or even spill right off the page.

Experimenting with bold typography and unconventional layouts can create unique, unusual designs, and modern development tools make it simpler to adapt these techniques for digital products and websites.

Just as fanzines gave subcultures a platform outside mainstream media, the web allows anyone to create and share without the limitations imposed by gatekeepers. Both mediums can and should thrive on creativity, experimentation, and individuality.

This focus on being creative, experimental, and individual makes fanzines a superb source of inspiration for website designers. Product and website design has become increasingly homogenous for the past decade or more, with countless commodity designs that look the same. But it doesn’t have to be this way. By adopting a fanzine mindset, you can balance convention with personal expression, creating authentic and original website designs that foster deeper connections with audiences. Here’s an example:

The brief: My client, The Daily Grind, is a coffee company that offers an insurance product for cafés and coffee shops. They wanted a bold, disruptive design unlike any of their competitors. The Daily Grind isn’t an actual client, but the creative challenges and decisions involved in designing layouts during a project like this are real.

You can see a familiar design using commonplace layout patterns on the left. The middle one uses an irregular layout inspired by fanzines. On the right, you can see the effect of rotating elements to increase the casual, handmade look.

Fanzines highlight the importance of telling authentic stories. They demonstrate that personal elements can enhance content, making it more engaging and relatable. This means stepping away from conventional patterns and generic templates and designing elements that convey a brand’s unique identity. Including custom illustrations, lively layouts, and unique typography can help you create designs that feel authentically personal.

Fanzines break free from traditional design grids, favoring spontaneous freeform arrangements instead. The text often wraps around images, and elements are layered without grid alignment.

If your designs are inspired by fanzines, they could feel less predictable, encouraging people to explore. Rejecting rigidity creates a sense of freedom and originality, making designs stand out in a world dominated by full-width banner images and 2-up, 3-up, and 4-up components set on a 12-column grid.

Handmade elements, irregular shapes, or textures can make a website feel authentic, reminding people that there’s a person behind the screen. Incorporating these elements adds character and breaks the monotony of overly polished web designs. In an era where authenticity is highly valued, fanzine-inspired imperfections can help businesses and brands build trust with their audiences.

Typography is a cornerstone of fanzine design, with creators often using bold, distressed, or oversized type to make strong statements. Experimental typefaces break from convention, capturing attention and setting the tone for the content. On the web, adopting this approach can make text a dynamic design element.

Variable fonts, CSS animations, and layering techniques allow you to experiment with type in exciting ways. Fanzine-inspired typography can transform a design into a visual statement, reinforcing its identity and message, whether a bold headline or playful text effects. And why not make high-contrast versions of photographs to use as background elements?

Layering is a signature technique in fanzine design, with images, text, and textures overlapping to create depth. Grunge effects, paper grain, and torn edges enhance the layered look. You can adapt this aesthetic by incorporating collage-style imagery or overlapping design elements to add visual interest, which draws people in and encourages them to explore. Using a minimalist color palette is a great way to enhance the cheaply printed, fanzine-inspired look.

Modern tools like Figma and Sketch make integrating fanzine-inspired elements into web design easy. You can create textures digitally or simply scan them in, while modern CSS layout tools allow you to create any number of unconventional layouts. SVGs allow for custom, hand-drawn visuals that are scalable and lightweight. Variable fonts and CSS properties like clip-path for typography can replicate fanzines’ bold, chaotic style. The key is to balance creativity with usability, ensuring your products or websites stay functional while pushing visual boundaries.

The fanzine aesthetic provides a refreshing alternative in a realm where digital designs can seem formulaic. Its genuine, often personal, and typically experimental approach to design encourages designers to adopt new perspectives. The flaws, striking typography, and disordered layouts of fanzines distinguish themselves amid the sleek digital environment. They remind us that design doesn’t have to be flawless to make an impact. You can escape convention and create websites that leave lasting impressions. So grab your metaphorical scissors and start designing differently.

Oh, and don’t sniff glue.

Are you up for some light reading? Sniffin’ Glue and Other Rock’n’Roll Habits, Punkzines, and Modzines are fanzinetastic books that will give you a grounding in zine history. In the meantime, check out our punk fonts and graphic zine templates to kick off your inspiration.

Often referred to as one of the pioneers of web design, Andy Clarke has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of web design and is known for his creative and visually stunning designs. His work has inspired countless designers to explore the full potential of product and website design.

Andy has written several industry-leading books, including Transcending CSS, Hardboiled Web Design, and Art Direction for the Web. He’s also worked with businesses of all sizes and industries to achieve their goals through design.

Visit Andy’s studio, Stuff & Nonsense, and check out his Contract Killer, the popular web design contract template trusted by thousands of web designers and developers.