Johnny Taylor – “Trump. Sugar. Sux. Tragic.” (Comedy Single Cover, 2017)

JOHNNY TAYLOR. TRUMP. SUGAR. SUX. TRAGIC. COMEDY SINGLE COVER 2017

A Comedy Single? Huh. OK, here’s the overview then…

In 2017, comedian Johnny Taylor released a short political comedy bit titled “Trump. Sugar. Sux. Tragic.” The title was a playful nod to the 1991 Red Hot Chili Peppers album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Johnny approached me to create the single artwork: something bold, irreverent, and unmistakably tied to the chaotic political moment of the time. The release sold for a single dollar, with all proceeds donated to Planned Parenthood, one of the comedian’s and the artwork’s most pointed references. This was a small project in scale and budget, but one of those assignments where design and attitude needed to meet in the same breath.

Concept and Inspiration

The visual concept started with the album that inspired the title. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is known for its mirrored faces, its symmetrical layout, and its instantly recognizable energy. I wanted to echo that structure without parodying it outright. The idea was to build an homage that worked more like a visual rhyme than a spoof.
The mirrored layout became a framing device for the piece’s central expression: a loud, blunt visual metaphor that captured the heat and absurdity of the political moment. By reworking the face silhouettes into stark black-and-cream forms, and then weaving in exaggerated shapes and aggressive textures, the composition lands somewhere between screenprint poster, political satire, and DIY zine culture.
The overall effect is messy, loud, and intentionally unstable. Which was exactly the point.

Design Approach

The artwork leans heavily on lo-fi textures, high-contrast silhouettes, and restricted color fields. The textured black base allows the shapes to float and collide in the composition, while the orange accents break the symmetry and add the comedic punch needed for a single that leans political and absurd.

The typography uses a rigid, almost institutional structure to offset the chaotic shapes. Johnny’s name is set for clarity and weight, while the title is broken into four words, each treated like a mini headline. The layout is intentionally sparse and dry, which provides both contrast and comedic friction with the imagery.
Everything is pushed toward a visual tone that feels handmade, urgent, and slightly unhinged. Because in 2017, everything more or less was.
The overall effect is messy, loud, and intentionally unstable. Which was exactly the point.

Release and Impact

The single was released independently and quickly became a small fundraiser for causes targeted by the administration at the time. By keeping the artwork bold, strange, and immediately readable in digital storefront thumbnails, the design helped the single stand out in online listings and social feeds.
For Johnny Taylor’s audience, the cover became a shareable symbol of the moment: a little angry, a little chaotic, a little cathartic, and very much in on the joke.