Marking the fortieth anniversary of Aotearoa’s legendary Flying Nun Records, Hellzapoppin’! brings together original artwork and design, film, record covers, posters and photography from some of New Zealand’s favourite bands. A labour of love, the book was designed in collaboration with Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū to catalogue their 2021 exhibition of the same name.

For the overall design, we wanted to achieve the considered feel of a gallery publication with the energy of Flying Nun’s famous DIY aesthetic. We chose the largest scale we could practically produce — big enough that we could include 12” record covers at actual size, set type close (a nod to pre-computer design) and played around with the scale and placement of images to give a dynamic fanzine-like feel, true to the lo-fi nature and era of the work on show. The main thing was to honour the art without the design overshadowing it.

Bathgate Design were awarded the Gold Pin for publication and book design and coveted Purple Pin for graphics at the 2022 Best Awards; Australasia’s largest annual showcase of excellence in design.

The judges commented: “All the judges were so excited about this amazing piece of work. It captured the essence and the homespun attitude of Flying Nun, which is such an important part of New Zealand’s identity. Such an outstanding piece of work!”