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A Visual Archive of Audio Cassette Tape Designs

By graphic designer and graffiti artist Neck

By Rain Noe - September 5

in Visual Communication | Object Culture

Today a playlist is an audio experience; the only visual association you have with one is a series of text lines on a screen. But in the '80s and '90s, we (or at least I) formed a strong visual connection to mix tapes. Because they were physical media, you had to select and handle each mix tape in order to play it. Each manufacturer had a different label design, and the variety of colors they came in made it easier to distinguish one mix from another. I still remember when transparent cassettes came out, and they seemed like they were from the future.

German graphic designer and graffiti artist Neck has built Tapedeck.org, a visual archive of cassette tapes.

"[The project was] built to showcase the amazing beauty and (sometimes) weirdness found in the designs of the common audio tape cassette. There's an amazing range of designs, starting from the early 60's functional cassette designs, moving through the colourful playfulness of the 70's audio tapes to amazing shape variations during the 80's and 90's. We hope you enjoy these tapes as much as we do!"

The site lets you select by brand, running time, color, and even the type of magnetic coating each cassette used. If you're of a certain age, you'll find it a real blast from the past.

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Christian Lockenwitz

3 months ago

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Yeah, this is great! I still have all my old mixtapes, they're little treasures - time machines, in fact. Recognize a whole bunch of the tapes pictured as my own, save for my scrawls (or my buddies'). My favourites are the bold coloured 70's AGFA's though, they're almost edible.

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Jason Scala

3 months ago

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Couldn't love this more. Thanks so much for posting it. I guess images of the cases probably are not as readily available? I always found some of the cases just as alluring as the cassettes. Can still smell those inserts. Mmmmmm-MMMMM. That TDK SA, loved it. Bought so many from Alwilk Records in my local mall. Maxell XL II, also.

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