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Graphic designer Storm Thorgerson passes away

Graphic designer Storm Thorgerson passes away

GRAPHIC designer Storm Thorgerson, who produced the artwork for some of the most memorable record album covers, has passed away at the age of 69.

After studying at the Royal College of Art in London, Mr. Thorgerson formed the design company Hipgnosis with his friend Aubrey Powell in the late 1960s. They did not set out to corner the market in designing album covers for top bands, but Mr. Thorgerson’s childhood friendship with some of the founding members of Pink Floyd resulted in a commission to produce the artwork for their second album A Saucerful of Secrets.

This was to be the start of a long association with the band with Mr. Thorgerson effectively becoming their designer-in-chief and producing outstanding outwork for a range of albums including The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973).

Other top bands were to beat a path to Hipgnosis — the name is derived from combining Hip with the Greek word for learning, gnosis — to commission artwork.

The client list grew to include 10cc, Genesis, Paul McCartney and Wings, and T Rex.

Much of the work involved a combination of expensively staged props with image manipulation, at a time before computer software such as Photoshop. In order to get a photo for Pink Floyd’s Animals they floated a 50ft. inflatable pig above Battersea Power Station.

For Led Zeppelin’s Houses Of The Holy (1973), they came up with a design which featured images of naked children climbing over the rocks at the Giant’s Causeway.

After Hipgnosis, Mr. Thorgerson continued to design for the music industry until shortly before his death.

Among the many tributes was one from Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour. He said: “He has been a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. I will miss him.”

Mr. Thorgerson passed away after being ill for some time with cancer.

To see an excerpt from an interview in which Mr. Thorgerson discussed his work with Pink Floyd,, click here.

To view a short film about Mr. Thorgerson, click here.

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