Reworking an iconic brand is always a bold decision. And there are few brands in UK house music more iconic than Ralph Lawson’s 20:20 Vision Recordings, now very aptly in its twentieth year of releasing quality underground music. With a new logo, typeface and the rest recently launched, we asked the main man if there was more than meets the eye to this new change in direction…
What was the decision behind the rebrand?
After celebrating 20 years in the industry last year, it was a nice time to reflect, to sit back and be proud of being around for longer than most record labels ever get the chance. But rather than pat ourselves on the back for too long the question quickly arose – what’s next? We realised that in order to continue we needed to evolve. This involved a shake-up of personnel with new label managers and A&R heads coming in to push the label into a fresh direction. This new direction is being spearheaded by the label rebrand and we’re all feeling very excited about the future.
Was it hard one to make given how iconic the old logo was?
Change is always tricky, but I think we all felt in our hearts that the old style looked a little tired. We knew the label was moving in a new direction and we needed an aesthetic to direct it. So when the option of a rebrand came up we were all unanimous that it needed to happen.
Who designed the new logo?
The new logo is key part of of the rebrand which was was carried out by Leeds based agency We Are Golden. We chose them partly because they are based in Leeds but also because their portfolio was so good. I really felt I clicked with their team as well. I love the work they have done for us. It is entitled ‘Pupil’ and is a series of hand drawn pupils in many different colours, with the idea being that it is dynamic and develops over time. It looks very simple but then again in design simplicity is a very hard illusion to pull off. Just look at an iPhone!
Who designed the original one? Was there any particular inspiration behind it?
The very first 20/20 logo was designed by ourselves, proper D.I.Y style. The second, and one I still like a lot, was designed by Carl Finlow. We then went ‘pro’ and the long standing ‘eye’ logo we have only just replaced was designed by The Designers Republic in Sheffield. They were a very famous studio that also designed Warp Records. So we needed a suitably impressive design agency to change a design with so much heritage associated with it.
What’s the logistical side of rebranding? Has there been a lot of work to update all your materials and channels and so on?
So in terms of logistics it was pretty big job! It was just about making a note of all the places where our branding was on display – retail, streaming, emails, mailouts etc and then deciding between us how each platform should look. We then made sure everything was changed over to the new look on a certain date.
Which other labels do you admire in terms of their visual aesthetic?
A few labels were mentioned during the brainstorming process of the rebrand. Labels such as DFA and Factory Records have such a strong visual identity and have been big inspirations to us in the past. So the main brief was just to be as iconic as labels such as these and then provide great music to accompany it.
What is coming up for the label music and party-wise?
We got a big Bank Holiday party coming up on 24th May at the Hackney Baths with Subb-an, PBR Streetgang, Hackman, Ralph Lawson, Forrest Live, iO Sounds, Lakosa and myself. Then we have our regular appearance at Sonar in June and some other stuff over the summer which we can’t reveal just yet…
Are there any plans to bring 2020 Soundsystem back into action?
No. This project ran 10 years and now the members are living 6,000 miles apart in three different countries. I am currently working on a track with bass player Fernando Pulichino though. It has Omar on vocals as well (yes THE Omar – ‘There’s Nothing Like This’!) I am now totally focusing my studio time on developing dub techniques for a new project called ‘Lost in Time’.
Finally, have you ever met someone with a 2020 Vision tattoo?
I hope not as we’ve changed just logo! That would be annoying, wouldn’t it? If you’re thinking about it then please use the new one. We won’t be changing again!