Ray Gun magazine No. 1, 1992

This is the cover of the first issue of Ray Gun magazine, which was active from 1992-2000.  Heavily influenced by California-based designer David Carson, this design and all others released by Ray Gun magazine pushed the boundaries of design at the time by experimenting with typography in ways that was at times illegible.  Many of the techniques exercised were made possible by photo editing software, making this cover an early example of digital media's influence on design that would completely transform the industry in the following decades.

Ray Gun magazine also had an impact on the representation of the alternative music culture that had been brewing in the 90s, especially in the US.