Peter Saville & Ben Kelly

"OMD's debut album was packaged in a stunning die-cut grid sleeve - an idea inspired by a grille in a Covent Garden clothes shop.

Variations on the grid design also featured in press ads and in the design of OMD's stage set itself.

The initial sleeve design featured a die-cut grid that revealed the inner sleeve.The album title was simply a sticker on the sleeve front.

Ben Kelly had originally suggested the idea of using perforated sheet steel as a design idea to Peter Saville. Kelly had already used the same material as part of the design for Mr Howie - a boutique based in Covent Garden, London.

Peter Saville once commented that "Talking Heads' Fear Of Music cover is the first definitive high-tech sleeve. The OMD sleeve is the UK version of the same thing. It is a perforated sheet metal pattern cut out of cardboard. It is the moment at which fashion comes in to play on design. Very clever that cover".

The original sleeve design featured a blue outer sleeve combined with an orange inner with a 12 x 12 die-cut grid. When Peter Saville realised that the printers could change the colour combinations every 10,000 copies at no extra cost he opted for a black/pink variation. When DinDisc realised that OMD fans were buying the second version they asked for a third design. The complete sleeve variations were as follows:

12 x 12 die-cut grid. Blue outer and orange inner sleeve.
12 x 12 die-cut grid. Black outer and pink inner sleeve.
10 x 10 die-cut grid. Grey outer and orange inner sleeve.
10 x 10 die-cut grid. Blue outer and orange inner sleeve.
Saville also rectified an earlier mistake by reducing the 12 x 12 grid scheme to 10 x 10 to prevent the inner sleeve from falling out.

The design of the inner sleeve was also subtly altered for some releases. The first design featured the credits in a black 'L' shape on both the front and back of the inner sleeve. Some releases rotated the 'L' shape 90 degrees anti-clockwise but shrank the type for the credits so they appeared on one side only.

After the die-cut sleeves were exhausted they were replaced with a plain sleeve that used the design featured on the cassette release.



The inner sleeve also provided an address for an information service. People who wrote in received a letter plus free badges and stickers.

The run-out grooves on the record read "Easy on the white noise" on side one while side two reads "The words are on the ceiling". The run-outs also have another cryptic message: "A porky prime cut", but this actually refers to the person who pressed the record."



Source: tomato ketchup please mmmmm OMD discography on the official site