Record Labels with Consistently Good Visual Design

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What are they? This could be via record covers, print ads, website, etc. Labels that look good & distinctive.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:02 (twenty-one years ago) link

Rykodisc.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:07 (twenty-one years ago) link

4AD

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:21 (twenty-one years ago) link

Warp

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:30 (twenty-one years ago) link

a couple obvious ones...

Factory
Blue Note

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

ESP-Disk
BYG/Actuel
Brain
Verve
Skam
Shandar
Impulse!
Incus
Siltbreeze
Alga Marghen
FMP

― hstencil, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

i really like the leaf label and domino generally put a bit of effort into their design, too...

― Dave Stelfox, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:37 (twenty-one years ago) link

Teenbeat.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

SIWA, Sound@One, Le Grand Magistery, Catsup Plate, Zapple and Corwood all come to mind

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

Oh, and American Tapes, obviously

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

Corwood? No way -- they make no effort at all to brand their stable of artists with anything to distinguish between them.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:43 (twenty-one years ago) link

Orange Recordings, check out Shams and Them Wranch album covers esp.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:58 (twenty-one years ago) link

Kompakt
~scape

I actually thought of this question b/c I love Dischord's print ads. One photo placed next to the new catalog items. Those photos always invite a longer look, you know? I've never seen an album cover from the label though.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:59 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hydra Head/Tortuga etc
Dischord
most ID Gigolo

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:01 (twenty-one years ago) link

Siesta/If/Reverie

― Paul R (paul R), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:03 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hmmm, a glossy, artificial fashion photograph telling some cryptic tale of murder and perversion?

Ah, this must be an Ersatz Audio release.

― EC, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:11 (twenty-one years ago) link

Blood & Fire

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:30 (twenty-one years ago) link

http://www.cdshakedown.com/05_2001/themwranch.jpg
http://www.brian-ewing.com/images/orangesxsw.gif

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:32 (twenty-one years ago) link

Revenant wraps their twangs in some very fine packaging, with the obvious exception of the No-Neck Blues Band's awkward velcro & balsa contraption.

― EC, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:43 (twenty-one years ago) link

ECM
http://www.ecmrecords.com/

Hypnos
http://www.hypnos.com/

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 13:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

ecm has always had beautiful photos and minimalistic design

sorta connected (distributed by ECM) is norway's Rune Grammofon (supersilent, et al)

Schematic has a bunch of covers done by the Designers Republic

― JasonD (JasonD), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:10 (twenty-one years ago) link

K-Tel and Ronco own this thread, obviously.

― s woods, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:11 (twenty-one years ago) link

Young God -- I love the uniformed stripes along the tops and bottoms of every album

Arena Rock -- I like that they've nicked ABKCO's logo...

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:13 (twenty-one years ago) link

Touch -- good typography and pretty pictures

― dan (dan), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

4AD
ESP
Mo'Wax

― christoff (christoff), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:17 (twenty-one years ago) link

4AD and ECM and Deutsche Grammophone are all fine and good, but did they ever put out one of these:

http://www.12testing.net/easy/albums/discoselector/selectorearly.jpg

― s woods, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

I don't think this thread has mentioned Morr Music yet. Their comps are especially nice.

― alex in montreal, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

Yes, Morr!

― christoff (christoff), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:41 (twenty-one years ago) link

I like the way the Disc-O-Selector front includes flags so that even if you're illiterate, you can still tell if the company cares about your country, or at least the country that colonized your country.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:50 (twenty-one years ago) link

Ha, and K-Tel was actually a Canadian company! (started in Winnipeg)

― s woods, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:52 (twenty-one years ago) link

. . . . . Gravity

― Jon Williams (ex machina), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:53 (twenty-one years ago) link

hey does any one actually keep Simon & Garfunkel, Mahler, Perry Como and Ray Conniff all together in their collection?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

I mean, that would be some party.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

Also note: K-Tel was savvy enough to not put their own records on the box.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 15:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hat Art is simple but really cool.

― marcg (marcg), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 16:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

Even for the person that only buys 12 albums a year, it would only hold 2 years worth! Do you really need a tool to help you flip through a collection so small? Anyway, haha, etc. If Horace didn't point out the artists actually in the thing, I sure would have.

― Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 16:10 (twenty-one years ago) link

Oh and I like the art on 60s Atlantic stuff. Like the artists, too.

― Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 16:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

seconding Hat Art (the typography) and Touch (the photography)...

also Tina Frank for Mego and just about anything the Chicks on Speed or The Designers Republic do.

― disco stu (disco stu), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 16:14 (twenty-one years ago) link

Audraglint. David who runs it is also a designer. They don't have many releases yet but every single one of them is spectacularly beautiful. He also did the Fontanelle covers for Kranky.

― kyle monday, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 19:14 (twenty-one years ago) link

Record Labels With Consistently Good Design:

4AD
Factory
Winter&Winter

Good Record Label Designer Studios:

The Designers Republic
Stylorouge
Blue Source
Microdot

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 20:52 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hipgnosis!

― hstencil, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 20:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hipgnosis was good on the 70's, but now it's a bit dated. I prefer the work of Roger Dean (Yes, Uriah Heep)

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 21:03 (twenty-one years ago) link

Trente Oiseaux.

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 21:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

Ant-zen and Rather Interesting.

― fletrejet, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:41 (twenty-one years ago) link

Sub Pop are/have been pretty consistent, esp when Jeff Kleinsmith was on board

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:42 (twenty-one years ago) link

the designers rupublic has always been a fav of mine.
everything they've done for warp has been gold.

― dyson (dyson), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

Unmentioned so far: Tzadik, Simple Machines (especially the singles - remember that intricate Scrawl folding sun thing, and the transparent red Grenadine 7"? Oh yes.)

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:11 (twenty-one years ago) link

Not a label, but Stereolab always had good design.

I also like a most of Steven Stapleton's (Nurse with wound) art - so I guess United Dairies then.

― fletrejet, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:17 (twenty-one years ago) link

I wanna give 4ad another shout out. If I was really rich I'd probably just by everything they've ever released (singles, eps, all of it!) just to have all that purty art in my room.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:19 (twenty-one years ago) link

Independent Project Records

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

I'm astonished Drag City hasn't been mentioned.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:31 (twenty-one years ago) link

Kompakt usually puts out absolutely gorgeous covers (especially the 'Total' series and 'Triple R: Friends'), but their 'Pop Ambient' covers were totally ugly. The typography was a sin.

― geeta, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

Seconding all the ones that have been mentioned before, especially IPR, 4AD, and Factory. Of the larger folks, I've already been impressed with Rhino - especially with their box sets.

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

Consistently bad visual design: Cleopatra.

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:06 (twenty-one years ago) link

No Limit, duh

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

I second Gravity!! Totally

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:42 (twenty-one years ago) link

Consistently bad visual design: Cleopatra.

Satan's bowel movements look more appealing.

Besides the usual suspects (yes yes 4AD rules all etc.), I like Projekt's 4AD-meets-new-age wash, but I would.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:52 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hydrahead, even if things get a little too overly-photoshopped sometimes.

― original bgm, Wednesday, 2 April 2003 01:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

impulse was the first that sprung to mind

― robin (robin), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 01:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

Many Folkways LPs were gorgeous, thanks to designer Ronald Clyne. I'm trying to do a bit of research on this as I admire his design very much. Unfortunately there aren't too many examples on my web for me to paste into this thread.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 01:47 (twenty-one years ago) link

poptones and él

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 01:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

Another great-looking label (including their website): Traum

And a nomination for "worst": the old Nonesuch modern classical recordings -- usually some unappealing ink drawing on the front in some unpleasant color scheme, plus the same image, smaller, INVERTED on the back, which always seemed to result in an even worse color scheme.

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 02:59 (twenty-one years ago) link

Examples:

http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/schoenberg/as_disco/images-n/nones251.jpg

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000005IVL.01._PE_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

(but the really bad-looking stuff is on old vinyl that never got a CD release and there's not a lot of pictures of it on the web)

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 03:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

I like Thirsty Ear's Blue Series covers a lot. Hefty is pretty good, and Hospital used to do the crazy packaging thing (wrapping cd's in vegetation and fake grass, etc.).

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 03:43 (twenty-one years ago) link

You never seen a Dischord album cover, Mark?!

― OCP (OCP), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 04:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

sympathy for the record industry (when mark ryden does em)
a bit cheating (not record labels) but....
peter saville (factory, suede, pulp)
mark farrow (ladies & gentlemen..., pet shop boys, anything white)
intro (xtrmntr)
me company (bjork)

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 05:36 (twenty-one years ago) link

seconded heartily: Rune Gr. and Winter&Winter

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 09:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

Definitely not Poptones

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 09:09 (twenty-one years ago) link

You never seen a Dischord album cover, Mark?!

Well, I borrowed The Argument from somebody once, but I can't remember the cover. Other than that, no, at least not one I've examined closely.

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 11:58 (twenty-one years ago) link

two years pass...

wagon repair

― fe zaffe (fezaffe), Sunday, 19 June 2005 14:42 (eighteen years ago) link

those are nice!! the matthew johnson ones in particular

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 19 June 2005 14:51 (eighteen years ago) link

Malicious Damage

ihttp://www.maliciousdamage.biz/graphics/main-artwork.jpg ihttp://www.maliciousdamage.biz/graphics/main-killingjoke.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 19 June 2005 14:53 (eighteen years ago) link

GROB

http://www.churchofgrob.com/Churchofgrob/CATALOG/Grob650/so36.jpg
http://www.churchofgrob.com/Churchofgrob/CATALOG/Grob657/marx_657.jpg
http://www.churchofgrob.com/Churchofgrob/CATALOG/Grob319/grob319.gif
http://www.churchofgrob.com/Churchofgrob/CATALOG/GROB205/CHADLEHN.JPG

― Jena (JenaP), Sunday, 19 June 2005 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link

creme organization

― fe zaffe (fezaffe), Sunday, 19 June 2005 21:03 (eighteen years ago) link

Raster Noton

― 3underscore (___), Sunday, 19 June 2005 21:43 (eighteen years ago) link

fourteen years pass...

Strictly Kev (of DJ Food and Openmind design) interviewing Andy Vella about his work for Fiction Records' dance sub-label Desire

http://www.djfood.org/andy-vella-design-interview/

― Fantastic. Great move. Well done (sic), Monday, 17 February 2020 09:14 (four years ago) link

Heavenly
Marina
Erased Tapes

― henry s, Monday, 17 February 2020 11:36 (four years ago) link

Clay Pipe
On the Corner
Mississippi Records

― by the light of the burning Citroën, Monday, 17 February 2020 13:59 (four years ago) link

Sacred Bones

― vmajestic, Monday, 17 February 2020 14:10 (four years ago) link

^ hell yeah
https://www.villagevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/sacred-bones-album-collage.jpg

― enochroot, Wednesday, 19 February 2020 18:29 (four years ago) link

Sacred Bones's logo and design make me want to own all their stuff regardless of whether I have any idea what it sounds like

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 19 February 2020 19:12 (four years ago) link

same w/ Ghost Box:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/Heyletlooseyourlove.jpg

― henry s, Wednesday, 19 February 2020 20:02 (four years ago) link

Weird, Sacred Bones doesn't do it for me at all, but I get that gotta catch'm all vibe from Music From Memory so I know what you mean.

― Evan, Wednesday, 19 February 2020 20:07 (four years ago) link

PAN https://p-a-n.org/shop/

― adam, Wednesday, 19 February 2020 21:08 (four years ago) link

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