This essay examines how the design expressions, techniques and materials of postmodernism and the punk movement have impacted past editorial design. By providing a historical overview and context of editorial design from the late 1950s to the early 2000s, this essay sheds light on how these movements influenced graphic designers to be more visually expressive. This is led by an individual semiotic analysis of four magazine spreads published between 1979 and 2001, followed by a section on how to identify the traits of each movement. The subsequent discussion invokes theories on representation, material and consumer culture, and how they apply to editorial design involving design expressions of postmodernism and the punk movement. The results indicate that the analyzed magazines have been influenced by these two movements, using different techniques, colors and typography to steer away from traditional editorial design and create more individually expressive magazines.