The Story of Vanguard album art

VMP (a.k.a. Vinyl Me, Please) released The Story of Vanguard, a box set presenting “a story told through six albums of peerless folk, with an eye towards historical accuracy and faithful mastering.” The vinyl albums in the set were lacquered from the original master tapes of Vanguard Records, a label known for both the music library of its 1950s–60s heyday, as well as for its memorable cover designs created under the art direction of Jules Halfant.

Designer Clay Conder paid homage to that history with dramatic use of Ballast and sparing subheads in Franklin Gothic Condensed. VMP’s house typeface Studio carries the main running text (printed in blue!) for the booklet of extensive liner notes.

Clay Conder shared these comments by email:

Since the aim of this project was to bring the wonderful Vanguard catalog of 50s and 60s folk music to a new, modern audience, I wanted a font that felt fitting for that era, but with a quirkiness that brought it into the current day. For that, Ballast was the perfect fit. It has all the elements of a classic slab serif like Egyptienne Bold Condensed, but with fun fresh touches that I really enjoyed playing with.