Colourbox – Colourbox

This is an iconic album - way beyond it's own decade. I have already reviewed it on Discogs on the main COLOURBOX page, so won't say more about the actual music here.

I was just looking at the application of corporate logo on the vinyl disc labels for the Australian release of this Colourbox album - pics 5-8 of the ozzy album cover images on this page. They're hilarious, you can imagine the debates they had in the design department about this. Obviously Virgin, must have set requirements for representing their corporate identity via their company logo use - it has to be a certain size, colour, in 'balance' or overide all else. And boy, no question, here: the Virgin logo is HUGE. I wouldn't normally mind, but in of this particular album (and any 4AD album with other logos, whether Virgin, Sire . . . .), it's ugly and wrong.

Alternatively, 4AD has always been discreet with the application of its own "4AD" logo. (It's proper use has to be judged on how the 4AD logo is used in the UK as that is what Vaughn Oliver would have had fullest jurisdiction over). The interesting thing is that as good design goes, 4AD acquired a kind prestige of collectability partly because of their design restraint, discretion can actually pay off when such a good product, with good design is produced . . .

Then, in total disregard of 4AD's aesthetic. . . what happens down under in of applying VIrgin's corporate logo? All discretion is thrown out the window. On the vinyl labels "Virgin" has its big ol' logo and then they have to increase the size of the 4AD logo right beside it (presumably because it would look stupid dwarfed by the Big V) - so you have two corporate labels at war with each other, more than twice the size of the artist name, dominating / overruling any artwork. This defeats the purpose of good design where there is a hierarchy of importance with text and image. It's a lazy marketing ploy. Truly ugly, hilarious and absurd.

One of the best electronic albums of the 80s and I still greatly enjoy it.