Outside Material: The cover Art of Preservation Music

Inevitably, Preservation Music’s groundbreaking packaging and cover art became essential to the label’s evolution, the course of which you can now trace in Outside Material, a new book courtesy of Formist Editions.

As the work of multi-award-winning designer Mark Gowing, the Preservation artwork reflects his commitment to experimentation in typography, photography and graphic abstraction, all with an eye to effective communication. Whatever its printed design, every CD cover employs folded paper as a package, offering the listener, or user, an intimate and tactile experience. Consequently, Outside Material’s image-drenched pages present music as something more than sound – these creations are material objects to see, hold and cherish.

Featuring an illuminating essay by music and arts writer Dan Rule, this lavishly produced volume showcases six years’ worth of thoughtful, music-inspired design. Printed on superior-grade paper, Outside Material presents actual-size reproductions of the label’s most distinctive CD covers alongside macro and micro details that further represent the intriguing artwork. An illustrated catalogue of Preservation releases completes the publication.