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VAUGHAN OLIVER: ARCHIVE RETRACES THE CREATIVE
STEPS OF ONE OF ALBUM DESIGN’S TRUE LEGENDSmust-read
Vaughan Oliver:
Archive, written by
Adrian Shaughnessy,
design by SPIN,
£59, published by
Unit Editions.
uniteditions.comVaughan Oliver:
Archive celebrates the
work of the iconic
British graphic
designer who sadly
passed away in
December. He’s best
known for his work
with record label 4AD,
CULTURE
PHOTOGRAP
H^ ©LUCAGI
OR
IETTOF
or those born near or after the
millennium, it might be hard to
imagine, but in the 1980s and
1990s the excitement of buying music was
often as much about the artwork as the
songs themselves. And album covers of the
era still evoke a strong emotional response
in many older fans.
Some of the most beloved record art of
that time was produced by British designer
Vaughan Oliver, who worked for the cult
label 4AD across two decades, crafting a
distinctive visual aesthetic for bands like The
Pixies, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders and
This Mortal Coil. His work was inspired,
among other things, by the surrealism of
Salvador Dali, punk’s cut-and-paste
approach, and religious and sexual
iconography. Deliberately chaotic and
confusing, these collage-based creations
summoned an air of mystique that added to
the audience’s experience.
Beautifully designed by SPIN and expertly
written by Adrian Shaughnessy, this
collection of Vaughan’s work contains not
just finished pieces – which alone makes
it a must-buy – but a treasure trove of
work-in-progress material, too. Here was a
designer who simply never threw anything
away, and the inclusion of proofs, running
sheets, unpublished artwork and weird
ephemera that inspired him offers a
fascinating glimpse into his process.
First published in 2018 as the first of two
volumes, this 434-page archive has now been
reissued as a limited edition following
Vaughan’s death in December. A percentage
of the sales will go to St George’s Hospital’s
Neuro Intensive Care Unit in London.