They are one of the most successful bands in hard rock history, with a history spanning almost 50 years, sales of 200 million albums, and a handful of songs that have become anthems of the genre. the design was based on letters from the Gutenberg Bible, Transcending the world of music, over time pop culture icon.
Today, the logo is a very important element in a world where image is increasingly important. For decades, rock bands in particular have understood this: This emblem was an important means of conveying their identity and musical style.. Also to differentiate themselves and be recognizable in any stage or country where they perform or where their records are sold.
On the subject of AC/DC, we have to go back to 1973; That’s the year the Young brothers, Angus and Malcom, came to Australia with their families escaping poverty from Scotland, and decided to form a band upon the suggestion of their older brother George. from rock
Sewing machine
The band’s name was chosen after a reading by Malcom and Angus. AC/DC acronym on the back of her sister Margaret’s sewing machine. It’s that simple. There was simple writing on the surface of the device stating that it had an adapter that converted the alternating current from a home wall outlet into the direct current it needed to operate. And this electric and energetic aspect fits his musical style perfectly.
In the band’s first video clip, dating back to 1974, the band’s name was already included in a rather simple logo. It was probably made by them on the drums. The initials AC and DC appeared separately, each inside a cube (geometric shape) with a lightning bolt in the middle, but above the initials without dividing them. At that moment, he was the vocalist of the group, albeit for a short time. Dave Evans. He would be replaced a few months later by the person who was always remembered. Bon Scott.
With the release of his first album High voltage (1975)Originally released only in Australia, the logo was already experiencing some complexity. There were thick black letters now, very close and consistent. An orange lightning bolt appeared in the middle of the two parts of the name.
A year later the band released their second album, again only in the Australian market. TNT (1976). The logo appeared this time Orange like letters resulting from blurring spray on a surface using a stencil. The hand of a creator has not yet been appreciated. The team has since seemed more focused on achieving some success in their home country.
Signing to Atlantic Records
That’s exactly what happened when Atlantic Records, a record label that would help the Australian band spread their music to the international market, came knocking on their door. Meanwhile, Albert Records will continue to be responsible for domestic distribution in Australia for now.
One of the important figures of the American record company Atlantic Records was its creative director. Bob Defrin, He has been working with the Young brothers for decades, responsible for designing their album covers. Defrin contacted a young 24-year-old graphic designer to create typography that would give the band’s initials personality. It was about Californians Gerard HuertaHaving previously worked for CBS records, designing covers for famous bands. The logo featured on its international edition High voltage It brings together songs from AC/DC’s first two works already released in the Australian market in 1976. Now the letters turn black and have a green border, the AC and DC parts are inclined in opposite directions and the ray dividing them is white with a yellow border.
1977, key year
It was a more important, less crude work, but it would not be the definitive work. The key year is 1977, when the new album appeared. Let It Be a Rock, Gerard Huerta pressed the button and designed the extant AC/DC logo. Letters became angular, including the rhombic ending of the letter A. So where did the inspiration for Huerta, who eventually became so long-lived and successful, come from? Although the work and the model are certainly earthly, as the creator himself noticed from the Gutenberg Bible, a kind of heavenly illumination or inspiration in their origin cannot be denied.
The young creator chose the gothic lyrics because he thought they would go well with the cover Defrin was working on and the band playing under a dark sky. “When I was at CBS I did some lyrics for the cover of an album called Blue Öyster Cult. On Your Feet Or On Your Knees. For some reason, I was hooked on the idea of using biblical letters for this logo, but representing it as slanted and metallic. I made these lyrics based on Gutenberg, and when it came time to make the lyrics for AC/DC, I used Gutenberg in a different way. It’s orange, it has frames, and it’s completely straight lines. There are no curves. very sharp“Huerta told the portal Striking Magazine.
The AC/DC logo contributed in a way. Gothic typography has become a kind of model for groups and artists of the genre.. After a while, his own designer realized this: “I went back before this to see if anything like this had been done, and I didn’t really see anything. This has become the defining aspect of the business. Heavy metal“.
But Huerta, who acknowledged that he still had the order and its invoice even though his work had appeared on millions of covers since 1977, received no more than a single initial payment. And he never claimed copyright or other compensation for this design. AC/DC wasn’t his only well-known work. Huerta, still active todayHe designed logos and album covers for important artists and bands such as Boston, Foreign, Chicago, Ted Nugent, Willie Nelson and Blue Oyster Cult. He also stood out for his typographic creations and logo designs for companies and publications such as HBO, Calvin Klein or Pepsi. time, People And PC Magazine.
A little more change
Even though AC/DC changed their minds rosette on your next album Strength (1978), which would return permanently and definitively to Huerta’s creation on subsequent albums, opting for an electric white logo on this occasion. symbolic caps Highway to Hell (1979) – which included a version censored by the record company in the United States – Back to Black (1980) or For those who will shake things up (1981) already had this feature, which has been preserved intact until today.
There was one striking exception: the cover of the international edition. He did dirty work, he’s dirt cheap Previously released in Australia in 1976 (1981), it was produced by Hipgnosis, the prestigious graphic design studio founded in 1967 by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, who had collaborated with bands such as Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.
That cover is a huge conceptual change (and daring, given the Australian band’s already on-mark style) and the letters AC/DC in one fuchsia these were more associated with psychedelia, light or the sound of surf rather than unmistakably powerful rocks riffs guitar
It should be taken into account that vinyl covers They became a key area in defining the groups’ entire visual and brand strategy. According to Huerta, this space was “the place to be if you were an artist, illustrator, or photographer.” That’s why the work of Atlantic Records artistic director Bob Defrin was also central to the AC/DC case. “A good cover doesn’t help a good album, but a bad cover can kill it,” he said on the podcast. AC/DC, beyond the thunder.
A legendary formation after 14 albums and 43 years hard Rock These letters, of Scottish origin, continue to stand as an unmistakable personal mark, appearing today not only on the covers of millions of records but also on record covers. t-shirts and sweatshirts can be found in major fashion stores around the world every year. These four simple gothic characters separated by a bolt of lightning have transcended rock and even music and have now become an icon of popular culture.