Fanzines have been around as long as people have been able to make printed documents, but was officially recognised as an item in 1940. They gained popularity in the punk era, when most of the bands and culture styles were shunned and banned by the media and record shops. Bands and fans would create fanzines on a low budget, usually photocopying them, and either sell them at a low price, or exchange them in return for someone else's fanzine. They were usually very simple in colour design, being made of only a few simple colours, as this kept printing charges to a minimum, but the graphic designs of the zines could be very art inspired and were often pieces of art themselves. The good thing about fanzines is that they can be made by anyone and therefore can be about anything, so it's not a surprise that more often than not they are about a controversial or risky theme. More recently they have become big in the design industry with artists creating zines as a side project to their professional careers.