Vaughan Oliver for Interview

In the early 1980s—before the notion of "alternative music" would become a cultural commodity sold to disaffected teenagers—there was arguably no more important or consistently groundbreaking record label than 4AD. Founded in 1980 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, the British indie label made a name for itself not only for introducing the world to the likes of Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Pixies, and Throwing Muses, but also for establishing a distinctive visual identity that proved to be as influential (and often as inscrutable) as the music itself. That was all thanks to the work of little-known British graphic designer Vaughan Oliver.