Hasta La Ideas

Farrow has designed Pet Shop Boys‘ forthcoming release, Format, a two-CD collection of b-sides and bonus tracks originally released between 1996 and 2009…

The colourful graphics on the lift-off lid card box represents the music contained within, as Mark Farrow explains: “The composition on the box is a graphic representation of all the spines of all 38 of the b-sides and bonus tracks included on the compilation.”.

“Every stripe represents the spine of the original release format on which each of the songs was included,” he continues, “whether it was a J card, pochette, cassette, DVD jewel box or 7 inch single. The colours are also informed by the original releases.”

The graphics on the two inner CD sleeves represent the tracks on each disc. There is a also a booklet included in the box, not shown here. “The booklet contains a Jon Savage interview with Neil and Chris about the songs,” says Farrow. “The booklet cover has the same type treatment as the box but features no graphics,” he continues. “We deliberately kept it really simple, it is black and white throughout.”

Format: B-sides and bonus tracks 1996-2009 by Pet Shop Boys is released next week on February 6. Label: EMI.

CR in Print

If you only read CR online, you’re missing out. From the meaning of beans to the power of love, the February issue of Creative Review features our 20 favourite slogans of all time and the stories behind them.

What makes a great slogan? We investigate the enduring power of these clever little phrases in our special slogans issue, dedicated to our choices for the top 20 slogans.

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