Clarité (Australia) / c. 1926
Corporate background:
Label scan courtesy of UK music researcher
and collector Bill Dean-Myatt, who notes that Clarité drew its
masters from the U.S. Banner label.
Design: Instead
of following the outer curve, typical of most typographic
labels of the 1910-1920 era (e.g. Albion, Arrow, Beatall etc.),
designers of the 1920s were beginning to experiment not only
with curved baselines, but cap lines also (e.g. La
Patrie, Supertone, Vox Humana etc.),
to create more visual interest.
The panoramic format suggests a movie
screen format, the sensational new ‘talkies’ being
introduced at this time.
The graphic imagery of pealing bells ties
in with the label name (‘clear as a bell’), while
the sunburst lines in the background increase visual impact.