The beginning of my research showed me that this wasn't defining just Hardcore punk but mainly Boston Hardcore punk and even more specifically 'Straight Edge' punk. Being 'Straight Edged' involved not taking any drugs or drinking alcohol and some would even take it further to not have coffee or sex. This was a really militant and serious way of living which some others in the Hardcore community felt to was a push too far. Their are stories of straight edge kids knocking out other hardcore kids for smoking cigarettes outside of venues and so on.
After further research, I discovered the designer of the infamous SSD album cover. She was called Bridget Burpee and she was responsible for nearly all the Boston Hardcore flyers and records covers for the label X-Claim in the early 80's. Interestingly, she was barely credited for a lot of her work and most of it went towards the photographer she worked with at the time, Philin Plash. She was also barley interviewed showing a lot of male superiority within the genre which is sad to see given the fact that she invented this movements aesthetic. Below are some of the outtake photographs by Phillin Plash for the first SSD album cover and the jacket worn on the cover by the bands guitar player.
After pushing my research towards Bridget Burpee, I found a Boston Hardcore fan page with a massive archive of Bridget's uncredited work http://allagesbostonhardcore.com/. It shows a lot of amazing album artwork but mainly flyers where you can clearly see her style shining through with bold sans serif type and that translated that really serious straight edge attitude.
These cut and paste posters were really interesting and clear. A lot them clearly stated 'No Alcohol or Drugs' on them too. A lot of them also featured a clear 'X' symbol on them. This is the mark of a straight edge person. It developed from club bouncers marking an 'X' on the hand of someone too young to drink.
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