Design

'If Your Place Needs a Slogan, It Has a Problem': A Conversation with the Creative Director of Manchester

After a career spent designing album covers, Peter Saville talks about his unique role in crafting his hometown's identity.
Mark Byrnes

Peter Saville is in the unusual position of building a city's brand.

Since 2004, Saville has served as the consultant creative director for Manchester, England. It's a fitting role for the artist, whose iconic record sleeves for Manchester-based Factory Records helped define the 1980s music scene and in some ways, the city itself. Now, he's helping Manchester cultivate its image in a more official capacity, assigned by the city's Chief Executive to the task of overseeing its brand.