True Blue Logo I Love You
Today we can say the True Blue album showcases one of the most iconic covers ever!
But at the time of release in 1986 Warner US and Warner International took a different route on the album’s logo. Warner US was so confident of Madonna’s popularity that decided for a logoless final cover while internationally her name and album title were put on the cover.
“We used a sticker in the US, thinking it would be really cool if when you took off the shrink-wrap there was nothing left but the gorgeous photo of Madonna. It was so iconic” Jeri Heiden, the album designer explains.
“Other territories were less confident I suppose, and felt that her name HAD to be on the cover. This isn’t unusual at all for territories to modify artwork for their needs. I remember providing International with the alternate cover”
The full Herb Ritts shot used on the cover was visible on the cassette version of True Blue but Jeri prefers the cropped 12″ version: “The image was a 35mm b&w shot. I experimented with a variety of treatments, looking for a good compliment to the album title. I think the image became more interesting cropped into a square and at that time we always started with the album cover configuration.
It was like she was floating her clothing was not visible. She took on the appearance of a marble statue. Goddess like. In the vertical cropping you see her leather jacket and the wall, and it becomes more typical, editorial, earthly.
