The original sleeve for New Order's Blue Monday was a die-cut sleeve that looked like a large floppy disc. It's routinely told that the sleeve cost more to produce than the entire disc was worth. Factory Records lost money on each copy sold.
Saville also designed Tony Wilson's headstone, which is pretty freaking cool (even though it took a few years to get done)
I haven't seen that before so thanks for linking! I've been a huge fan of Saville's work for years now, and a bit of a collector of his work. I have a couple of the special boxed Factory Records tapes from the earlier Factory years, including Unknown Pleasures.
I'm also glad to see the tombstone is using the Factory Records typeface (at least up top). I wonder if it has a FAC catalog number...
Factory Records put a lot into design and the concept behind it. Durutti Column's "Return of Durutti Column" sleeve was made of sandpaper, so it could damage other records placed beside it (the idea was supposedly Tony Wilson's).
The original sleeve for New Order's Blue Monday was a die-cut sleeve that looked like a large floppy disc. It's routinely told that the sleeve cost more to produce than the entire disc was worth. Factory Records lost money on each copy sold.
Saville also designed Tony Wilson's headstone, which is pretty freaking cool (even though it took a few years to get done)
http://kottke.org/10/10/tony-wilsons-headstone