Vaughn Oliver was a graphic designer whose vinyl sleeve designs became some of the most iconic images of the 80s and 90s punk and rock music scene. He was born in Sedgefield, County Durham, England, on September 12th, 1957 to  Doreen, who was his mother, and Ernest Oliver, his father. He grew up in a town not far from where he was born called Newton Aycliffe. His childhood was not particularly spectacular; his father was a mining surveyor and he described Newton Aycliffe as a “dull town”. He found refuge in his art class during grade school, introducing him to the idea of art and design. Oliver grew up listening to rock music and has said that in a town like County Durham, his main source of art and culture came from record sleeves, which may have been what drew him to designing them.

Oliver attended what is now Northumbria University in Newcastle, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design in 1979. He moved to London and in 1982, he met Ivo Watts-Russell, co-founder of the record label 4AD along with Peter Kent, at a party. They hired Oliver, making him their first employee. Although he was a full time employee of 4AD for only 4 years, Vaughn Oliver worked continuously with 4AD for the majority of his career, where he designed record sleeves for grunge and rock bands such as the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, and the Breeders as well as others. The record label liked to give Oliver a lot of freedom and creative liberty to design as he saw fit, to spectacular results. Vaughn Oliver stated that he tried to create designs that communicated each band’s identity and style. According to him, he did this by, “Creating feelings or aesthetic moods derived from the music, from the texture and atmosphere the music itself already had.” He liked to work closely with the musicians, drawing design inspiration from an album’s lyrics, sound, and songwriting process.

In addition, he created a partnership with photographer Nigel Grierson in 1983 called 23 Envelope. Together, they collaborated and created designs. However, this partnership did not last as their creative decisions diverged and Vaughn Oliver sought collaboration with a number of other photographers such as Simon Larbaleister and Jim Friedman. Many of Vaughn Oliver’s designs involved abstract and blurred human forms, dark and gothic images with heavy use of textures. His style is influenced by surrealist art and macabre photography. He would often work with photographers or use found images and assets from old historical documents or catalogs. In addition, he used a lot of mechanical techniques in order to achieve the gritty textures in his work, such as hand bleaching photographs. This gave his work a unique edge that worked perfectly with the rock and punk bands he would design for.

Vaughn Oliver passed away on December 29th, 2020 at the age of 62. He has since, and will continue to be remembered as one of the most influential designers of the rock genre. His work is a convergence of art and design that proves that design is not just about creating something that appeals to an audience, but something that captures the essence of and gives an identity to its subject.

Bibliography:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/29/vaughan-oliver-celebrated-4ad-graphic-designer-dies-aged-62

Remembering Vaughan Oliver: “I never like to take the easy road. I like to provoke, to be perverse”

Vaughn Oliver- Visceral Pleasures, Rick Poyner