Although officially designed by Peter Saville, architect Ben Kelly also claims rights to this iconic design. Kelly’s thesis for the Royal College of Art (1974) shows an almost identical image but engraved with the words Metal Lined Cubicles along side his pseudonym The Photo Kid.
Saville felt that the hard metal appearance was perfect as a representation of contemporary urban spirit; something that the band themselves also represented. Working with photographer Trevor Key the oxidised sheet metal was recreated with the pressing “Love Will Tear Us Apart” with “A Factory Record – FAC 23”. The back of the sleeve, rarely noted, contains less details than the front. It simply states “These Days” and “Joy Division”.

The record sleeve took on a far greater significance than capturing the contemporary urban spirit intended by Saville. The sleeve never really captured the melancholic feel of the song and with Curtis’ suicide shortly after recording the song the sleeve itself was misinterpreted as a headstone. I can completely understand this. My copy of the sleeve although of decent print quality shows a surface that looks as much like smooth stone as it does metal. Although supposed to be oxidised the actual image doesn’t show any orange rust spots which would give a more metallic impression. The result in any case is a design that took on an increased significance, an iconic significance way beyond its intended purpose.