Malcolm Garrett
New Wave Album Cover Designer By Stewart MasonDesigned era-defining graphics for new wave and new romantic acts like Buzzcocks, Magazine, Duran Duran and Simple Minds
Many of the things one now thinks of as cliches of new wave era sleeve graphics -- the bright and garish color combinations just this side of clashing, the tilted and shadowboxed photos, the abundant use of scattered lines, dots and dashes -- came about because less-talented people were attempting to copy the work of Malcolm Garrett. From his early work with fellow Mancunians Buzzcocks (including the design of their iconic double-Z logo) through his era-defining early '80s sleeves for UK pop staples like Duran Duran and Simple Minds, Garrett knew how to skate the edges of good taste. (Duran Duran's Rio features a cover illustration by Playboy favorite Patrick Nagel, after all.) But there's an elegance to Garrett's work, particularly in his modernist-influenced typography, that only his friend and Manchester Polytechnic classmate Peter Saville bested during the early MTV era. Following this chart heyday, Garrett moved into general commercial graphic design, with a particular interest in computers and technology, and began teaching as well.
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