Storm Thorgerson

Background

Storm Thorgerson was born in Potters bar in 1944. His career took off in 1968 when he formed Hipgnosis with Aubrey Powell, a graphic design studio specialising in creative photography.

Album Covers

His designs for album covers include Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, 10CC, Yes, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney and many more. In 1983 Storm along with Aubrey and Peter Christopherson formed Green Back films and embarked on producing numerous rock videos. In 1994 Storm directed six short films for Pink Floyd which were screened at concerts during their world tour.

His design for Dark Side of the Moon has been called one of the greatest album covers of all time. Many of his designs are notable for their surreal elements. He often places objects out of their traditional contexts, especially with vast spaces around them, to give them an awkward appearance while highlighting their beauty. To quote Storm Thorgerson, “I like photography because it is a reality medium, unlike drawing which is unreal. I like to mess with reality…to bend reality. Some of my works beg the question of is it real or not?”

Career

Several books have been devoted to surveying Storm Thorgerson’s work over three-plus decades. Storm continues to design album covers and direct the occasional film along with writing and designing several books.