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Vaughan Oliver: Visceral Pleasures
Vaughan Oliver is an influential member of the small group that changed the face of British graphics in the 1980s. Designed by Oliver himself, and written by Rick Poynor, this book illustrates the his intensely visual and emotive work in detail for the first time -- most notably his sumptuous sleeve imagery for London's 4AD label.
- GenresDesign
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2000
24 people want to read
About the author
Rick Poynor
40 books26 followersRick Poynor is a British writer on design, graphic design, typography and visual culture. He began as a general visual arts journalist, working on Blueprint magazine in London. After founding Eye magazine, which he edited from 1990 to 1997, he focused increasingly on visual communication. He is writer-at-large and columnist of Eye, and a contributing editor and columnist of Print (magazine).
In 1999, Poynor was a co-ordinator of the First Things First 2000 manifesto initiated by Adbusters. In 2003, he co-founded Design Observer, a weblog for design writing and discussion, with William Drenttel, Jessica Helfand and Michael Bierut. He wrote for the site until 2005. He was a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art, London from 1994 to 1999 and returned to the RCA in 2006 as a research fellow. He has also taught at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. In 2004, Poynor curated the exhibition Communicate: Independent British Graphic Design since the Sixties at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. The exhibition subsequently travelled to four venues in China and to Zurich.
Poynor's writing encompasses both cultural criticism and design history and his books break down into three categories. He has written several monographs about significant British figures in the arts and design: Brian Eno (musician), Nigel Coates (architect) and Vaughan Oliver and Herbert Spencer (graphic designers). Other books document and analyse general movements in graphic design and typography. Among these are Typography Now, the first international survey of the digital typography of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and No More Rules, a critical study of graphic design and postmodernism. Poynor has also published three essay collections, Design Without Boundaries, Obey the Giant and Designing Pornotopia, which explore the cultural implications of visual communication, including advertising, photography, branding, graphic design and retail design.
Poynor was a prominent interviewee in the 2007 documentary film Helvetica.
In 1999, Poynor was a co-ordinator of the First Things First 2000 manifesto initiated by Adbusters. In 2003, he co-founded Design Observer, a weblog for design writing and discussion, with William Drenttel, Jessica Helfand and Michael Bierut. He wrote for the site until 2005. He was a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art, London from 1994 to 1999 and returned to the RCA in 2006 as a research fellow. He has also taught at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. In 2004, Poynor curated the exhibition Communicate: Independent British Graphic Design since the Sixties at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. The exhibition subsequently travelled to four venues in China and to Zurich.
Poynor's writing encompasses both cultural criticism and design history and his books break down into three categories. He has written several monographs about significant British figures in the arts and design: Brian Eno (musician), Nigel Coates (architect) and Vaughan Oliver and Herbert Spencer (graphic designers). Other books document and analyse general movements in graphic design and typography. Among these are Typography Now, the first international survey of the digital typography of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and No More Rules, a critical study of graphic design and postmodernism. Poynor has also published three essay collections, Design Without Boundaries, Obey the Giant and Designing Pornotopia, which explore the cultural implications of visual communication, including advertising, photography, branding, graphic design and retail design.
Poynor was a prominent interviewee in the 2007 documentary film Helvetica.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 22, 2025
Have I mentioned that I’m a fan of Vaughan Oliver’s graphic design and have many books on his work? This book, written by Professor Rick Poyner, was published in 2000 and primarily summarises Oliver’s work for record label 4AD.
I bought the book when it was first published and visited Vaughan’s Battersea office to have it signed by him.
Reading it again twenty-five years later—and a little more than five years after Oliver’s death—reveals the book’s weakness. Oliver himself managed to do a better job of summarising his career in his Vaughan Oliver Archive, published just before his all to early death. Poyner’s book feels inadequate as it misses the final twenty years of Oliver’s career. However, the plethora of beautifully reproduced photos of Oliver’s record covers and posters redeem it to a degree.
Appatently, this book has become a collectors’ item and quite expensive, but if one wants a good summary of Oliver’s work, I would look for the equally expensive Archives.
I bought the book when it was first published and visited Vaughan’s Battersea office to have it signed by him.
Reading it again twenty-five years later—and a little more than five years after Oliver’s death—reveals the book’s weakness. Oliver himself managed to do a better job of summarising his career in his Vaughan Oliver Archive, published just before his all to early death. Poyner’s book feels inadequate as it misses the final twenty years of Oliver’s career. However, the plethora of beautifully reproduced photos of Oliver’s record covers and posters redeem it to a degree.
Appatently, this book has become a collectors’ item and quite expensive, but if one wants a good summary of Oliver’s work, I would look for the equally expensive Archives.
Displaying 1 of 1 review