US indie rock band Pixies' album 'Doolittle' (1989) is one of Vaughan Oliver's classic album cover designs. Photo: 4AD
To those coming of age in the 1980s and 1990s, album cover designer Vaughan Oliver created not only the look of the influential British record label 4AD, but conjured an imaginary realm that would influence generations of artists, graphic designers and pretty much anyone with an eye on image.
Oliver, whose death was announced on Dec 29, crafted abstract, Dada-esque record covers for dozens of bands including the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, the Breeders and His Name is Alive. In the process, his aesthetic became a visual touchstone and helped drive listeners to ponder the ways in which sound could influence image and vice versa.
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