The Vertigo Swirl

Introduction

I wasn't sure how to do this. At first, I thought of a poem, and thought the Vertigo Swirl is a work of art, the most impressive record label I have ever seen, because of the three-dimensional effect when you see it spinning.

I referenced it in a previous piece here (I borrowed the image from there as well):

I then took an Instagram video of it to share here:

The music I used was Beggars Opera's take on Mason Williams' "Classical Gas", and in a piece of synchronicity, the YouTube video I have shared is "Poet and Peasant (Dichter and Bauer)", by Beggars Opera.

I am a member of the Vertigo Swirls group on Facebook that appreciates this iconic design.

There are not many CDs that use the full label design, but I am awaiting a CD single by Kerbdog ("Earthworks") and will share that here when it comes through my letterbox. It doesn't really work when it plays though:

The Vertigo Swirl

Vertigo ditched the design for a "spacier" art design, but I still prefer the original. I used to have a pair of watches with the designs on, but they are lost somewhere in my house. If I find them, I will add photographs to this piece.

The Vertigo Swirl logo was designed by Philips' in-house art directors Linda Glover (later Nicol) and Mike Stanford, based on an idea from Olav Wyper, who was responsible for creating the Vertigo Records label. The design's concept was to create a hypnotic, dizzying effect when the record spun, and it was influenced by the work of artists like Marcel Duchamp and Marina Apollonio.

Vertigo Swirl Site

Conclusion

Thank you for reading/ This is just a short piece about my favourite record label design