Peter Saville is an english director and graphic designer who co-founded Factory Records in 1978 together with Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. While Martin Hannett was the household record producer of the label Peter was busy with graphic design of album and single covers. Heavily inspired by the dutch art style: De Stijl. Especially for Joy Division and New Order. The 12 inch single of New Order's "Blue Monday" for example which resembles a floppy disc is one of his best known designs. See also my posts about the New Order album "Power, Corruption & Lies" and OMD's "Architecture and Morality". The record label went bankrupt in 1992 soon after the deaths of Martin Hannett and Dave Rowbotham (guitarist originally from the Durutti Column).

Peter Saville, Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus

He also did covers for other record companies and also collaborated with Ben Kelly in designing covers. Together they won a Designers and Art Directors Award for the sleeve of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's 1980 self-titled first album. Peter designed covers for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Ultravox, Roxy Music, Wham! and Peter Gabriel. For Peter Gabriel he designed the album cover of "So" in 1986 for which he earned the biggest amount of his career £20,000.

Peter Saville

After designing music covers he started designing for advertising and fashion with customers like Selfridges, EMI, Christian Dior and Pringle (from the potato chips). German band Krafwerkt asked Peter Saville to redo all their album covers in an abstract way.

Joy Division - Love will tear us apart
Joy Division - Closer

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)

New Order - Technique

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

OMD - Dazzle Ships

Roxy Music - Avalon

Kraftwerk - Autobahn (redesigned)
See a list of all released by Factory Records here.
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