Surf Wiki
Save to docs
arts/music

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Hipgnosis

English art design group

English art design group

Hipgnosis were an English art design group, based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, the Nice, Paul McCartney & Wings, the Alan Parsons Project, Yes, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Electric Light Orchestra, Rainbow, Styx and Al Stewart.

Hipgnosis consisted primarily of Cambridge natives Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, and later Peter Christopherson. The group dissolved in 1983, though Thorgerson worked on album designs until his death in 2013. Powell has worked with Paul McCartney and the Who in film and video production, and as the creative director for both Pink Floyd and their lead guitarist David Gilmour. Christopherson went on to produce music videos for many bands and shot some of the earliest promotional photography for the Sex Pistols, but worked primarily as an electronic musician in the bands Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and Coil until his death in 2010.

History

In 1968, Thorgerson and Powell were approached by their friends in Pink Floyd to design the cover for the group's second album, A Saucerful of Secrets. This led to additional work for EMI, including photos and album covers for the Pretty Things, Free, Toe Fat and the Gods. Being film and art school students, they were able to use the darkroom at the Royal College of Art, but when they completed school, they had to set up their own facilities. They built a small darkroom in Powell's bathroom, but shortly thereafter, in early 1970, rented space and built a studio located at 6 Denmark Street.

When first starting out, Powell and Thorgerson adopted their name from graffiti they found on the door to their apartment. Thorgerson said they liked the word, not only for punning on "hypnosis", but for possessing "a nice sense of contradiction, of an impossible co-existence, from Hip = new, cool, and groovy, and gnosis, relating to ancient learning."

Hipgnosis gained major international prominence in 1973 with their cover design for Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. The final design was one of several versions prepared for the band to choose from, but according to drummer Nick Mason, the 'prism/pyramid' design was the immediate and unanimous choice. The record itself became one of the biggest-selling and longest-charting albums of all time, and the cover has since been hailed as one of the best of all time (VH1 rated it as No. 4 in 2003). After that, the firm became highly sought-after, and did many covers for high-profile bands and artists such as Led Zeppelin, Genesis, UFO, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, the Alan Parsons Project, and Yes. They also designed the cover for a UK paperback edition of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Adams would describe Thorgerson as "The best album designer in the world"), as well as the original UK hardcover edition of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron.

Peter Christopherson joined Hipgnosis as an assistant in 1974, and later became a full partner. The firm employed many assistants and other staff members over the years, including freelance designers and illustrators Richard Evans, George Hardie, and Richard Manning.

Hipgnosis did not have a set fee for designing an album cover but instead asked the artists to "pay what they thought it was worth". According to Thorgerson, this policy only occasionally backfired.

Style

Hipgnosis's approach to album design was strongly photography-oriented, and they pioneered the use of many innovative visual and packaging techniques. In particular, Thorgerson and Powell's surreal, elaborately manipulated photos (utilizing darkroom tricks, multiple exposures, airbrush retouching, and mechanical cut-and-paste techniques) were a film-based forerunner of what would, much later, be called photoshopping. Hipgnosis mainly used Hasselblad medium format cameras for their work.

Hipgnosis covers were noted for their quirky humour, such as the cover for the Pink Floyd double-LP compilation A Nice Pair (1973), which featured an array of visual puns. Another example was the 1974 album There's the Rub for Wishbone Ash using a picture of a cricketer and ball.

Such humour once angered Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, when Hipgnosis created a visual pun based on "(tennis) racquet"/"(noise) racket" for the 1973 album Houses of the Holy. Hipgnosis almost lost Led Zeppelin as a client as a result.

Another trademark was that many of their cover photos visually related to the album's lyrics, often depicting puns or double meanings of words in the album title. Since both Powell and Thorgerson were film students, they often used models and staged the photos in a highly theatrical manner. Hipgnosis covers rarely featured artists' photos on the outside, and most were in a gatefold cover format to provide ample space for their imagery.

Many of Hipgnosis's covers also featured pen and ink logos and illustrations designed to appear high-tech (often by graphic designer George Hardie), stickers, fancy inner sleeves, and other packaging bonuses. One of the extras created by Hipgnosis was the specially printed inner sleeve for Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door (1979) LP, which was black and white but turned to colour when dampened with water (tying in with the main cover's photographic theme).

Catalogue

YearArtistAlbum
1968Pink Floyd*A Saucerful of Secrets*
*A New Generation of Blues*
*Genesis*
*Till There Was You*
*The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation*
1969Pink Floyd*More*
The Gun*Gun Sight*
*To Samuel a Son*
Pink Floyd*Ummagumma*
Panama Limited Jug Band*Panama Limited Jug Band*
Humble Pie*Town and Country*
Island Records artists*You Can All Join In*
1970*Horizons*
Pink Floyd*Atom Heart Mother*
Quatermass*Quatermass*
*Parachute*
*The Going's Easy*
*The Madcap Laughs*
*Five Bridges*
Toe Fat*Toe Fat*
Cochise*Cochise*
Harvest Records artists*Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air*
Panama Limited*Indian Summer*
Sounds Nice*Love at First Sight*
Gravy Train*Gravy Train*
*Barrett*
*Remains to Be Heard*
Argent*Ring of Hands*
Jackson Heights*King Progress*
Twink*Think Pink*
Probe Records artists*Handle With Care*
1971T. Rex*Electric Warrior*
Toe Fat*Toe Fat 2*
Trees*On the Shore*
Marvin, Welch & Farrar*Marvin, Welch & Farrar*
*Elegy*
Pink Floyd*Meddle*
Electric Light Orchestra*The Electric Light Orchestra*
Audience*House on the Hill*
*Edgar Broughton Band*
Wishbone Ash*Pilgrimage*
Climax Blues Band*Tightly Knit*
Tear Gas*Tear Gas*
Stackridge*Stackridge*
Daddy Longlegs*Oakdown Farm*
*Master's Apprentices*
*Changes*
Pink Floyd*The Piper at the Gates of Dawn* (Italian reissue)
*Rory Gallagher*
1972Flash*Flash*
Wishbone Ash*Argus*
*Autumn '67 – Spring '68*
Fumble*Fumble*
*Distant Light*
Renaissance*Prologue*
*Inside Out*
Audience*Lunch*
*Freeway Madness*
Pink Floyd*Obscured by Clouds*
Emerson, Lake & Palmer*Trilogy*
Blue Mink*A Time of Change*
*Meanwhile...Back at the World*
Glencoe*Glencoe*
Danta*Danta*
*Romany*
*Olivia*
*Crying Laughing Loving Lying*
1973Electric Light Orchestra*ELO 2*
Pink Floyd*The Dark Side of the Moon*
*Minstrel in Flight*
Electric Light Orchestra*On the Third Day*
*Oora*
*Past, Present and Future*
Argent*In Deep*
Led Zeppelin*Houses of the Holy*
Audience*You Can't Beat 'Em*
*Lifemask*
Renaissance*Ashes Are Burning*
Wishbone Ash*Wishbone Four*
*Live Dates*
Flash*Out of Our Hands*
Various artists*Music from Free Creek*
Humble Pie*Thunderbox*
Vinegar Joe*Rock 'n Roll Gypsies*
Babe Ruth*Amar Caballero*
Pink Floyd*A Nice Pair*
Public Foot the Roman*Public Foot the Roman*
*Rockin' with Curly Leads*
1974Sharks*Jab It in Yore Eye*
Uno*Uno*
Genesis*The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway*
Wishbone Ash*There's the Rub*
Nazareth*Rampant*
Renaissance*Turn of the Cards*
*Valentine*
*Somethin's Happening*
*Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion*
Bad Company*Bad Company*
Blue Mink*Fruity*
Fumble*Poetry in Lotion*
*Syd Barrett*
[10cc](10cc)*Sheet Music*
*Silk Torpedo*
UFO*Phenomenon*
*Mind Wave*
*Hollies*
Sweet*Desolation Boulevard*
1975UFO*Force It*
*Savage Eye*
Pink Floyd*Wish You Were Here*
Bad Company*Straight Shooter*
Renaissance*Scheherazade and Other Stories *
*HQ*
*A Bunch of 45s*
*The Greatest Show on Earth*
[10cc](10cc)*The Original Soundtrack*
*S. F. Sorrow / Parachute*, double reissue (UK version only)
*Modern Times*
Wings*Venus and Mars*
Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias*Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias*
Caravan*Cunning Stunts*
Sassafras*Wheelin 'n' Dealin*
*First Starring Role*
Strife*Rush*
*The Winkies*
Solution*Cordon Bleu*
*Subtle as a Flying Mallet*
*Specs Appeal*
1976AC/DC*Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap* (International edition)
Golden Earring*To the Hilt*
Montrose*Jump on It*
Kevin Coyne*Heartburn*
Wings*Wings at the Speed of Sound*
*Year of the Cat*
*Tales of Mystery and Imagination*
Black Sabbath*Technical Ecstasy*
Genesis*A Trick of the Tail*
[10cc](10cc)*How Dare You!*
Led Zeppelin*The Song Remains the Same*
*Presence*
Brand X*Unorthodox Behaviour*
Wings*Wings over America*
*Olias of Sunhillow*
Nazareth*Close Enough for Rock 'n' Roll*
UFO*No Heavy Petting*
Wishbone Ash*New England*
Genesis*Wind & Wuthering*
*Stranger in the City*
*Russian Roulette*
1977Wishbone Ash*Front Page News*
*Songwriter*
UFO*Lights Out*
*I Robot*
[10cc](10cc)*Deceptive Bends*
*Bullinamingvase*
Brand X*Moroccan Roll*
*Livestock*
*Sammy Hagar*
*The Early Years*
*Musical Chairs*
Bad Company*Burnin' Sky*
Pink Floyd*Animals*
Electric Light Orchestra*The Light Shines On*
*Peter Gabriel (I)* (aka "Car")
Yes*Going for the One*
Fabulous Poodles*Mirror Stars*
*Face to Face: A Live Recording*
Hawkwind*Quark, Strangeness and Charm*
Space*Deliverance*
Status Quo*Live!*
Strawbs*Deadlines*
*Caught Live + 5*
(as "Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington")*Thrillington*
Wishbone Ash*Classic Ash*
1978Manset*2870*
Pezband*Laughing in the Dark*
Be-Bop Deluxe*Drastic Plastic*
*Wet Dream*
*David Gilmour*
Styx*Pieces of Eight*
Wings*Wings Greatest*
*Back to the Bars*
XTC*Go 2*
*Caravan to Midnight*
Yes*Tormato*
Genesis*…And Then There Were Three…*
Wishbone Ash*No Smoke Without Fire*
*Peter Gabriel (II)* (aka "Scratch")
*Time Passages*
*Pyramid*
Black Sabbath*Never Say Die!*
Renaissance*A Song for All Seasons*
Synergy*Cords*
UFO*Obsession*
[10cc](10cc)*Bloody Tourists*
*Approved by the Motors* (version 2)
*Zaragon*
Hot Chocolate*Every 1's a Winner*
*Nite Flights*
Wings*London Town*
*Gerry Rafferty*
Novalis*Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown?*
1979UFO*Strangers in the Night*
Scorpions*Lovedrive*
*Eve*
Bad Company*Desolation Angels*
*The Dukes*
*Parlez-Vous English* (as the Broughtons)
[10cc](10cc)*Greatest Hits 1972–1978*
Led Zeppelin*In Through the Out Door*
Brand X*Product*
Manfred Mann's Earth Band*Angel Station*
*No More Fear of Flying*
*Live Herald*
Godley & Creme*Freeze Frame*
U.K.*Danger Money*
*Mick Taylor*
Ashra*Correlations*
*Slide Away the Screen*
Throbbing Gristle*[20 Jazz Funk Greats](20-jazz-funk-greats)*
*Welcome to the Cruise*
Wings*Back to the Egg*
Synergy*Games*
1980*The Michael Schenker Group*
*Cross Talk*
Brand X*Do They Hurt?*
*Smallcreep's Day*
[10cc](10cc)*Look Hear?*
*Peter Gabriel (III)* (aka "Melt")
Scorpions*Animal Magnetism*
UFO*No Place to Run*
*Caught in the Crossfire*
Wishbone Ash*Just Testing*
*Living in a Fantasy*
*De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da*
Wishbone Ash*Live Dates 2*
1981UFO*The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent*
Pink Floyd*A Collection of Great Dance Songs*
Rainbow*Difficult to Cure*
*Fictitious Sports*
*Fun in Space*
Def Leppard*High 'n' Dry*
*Sakuban Oaisimashō*
*Nip in the Bud*
*Tilt*
*[1984](1984-rick-wakeman-album)*
1982*Music Spoken Here*
*Tug of War*
Rainbow*Straight Between the Eyes*
*Eye in the Sky*
Bad Company*Rough Diamonds*
Led Zeppelin*Coda*
1983Rainbow*Bent Out of Shape*
*Voyager*

References

References

  1. "Helen Donlon interviews Hipgnosis". londongrip.co.uk.
  2. The photodesigns of Hipgnosis The Goodbye look. Vermillion Hutchinson Publishing Group. 1982 {{ISBN. 0 091506417
  3. Gioia, Ted. (8 December 2014). "The Golden Age of Rock Album Covers". [[The Daily Beast]].
  4. Thorgerson, S: ''Hipgnosis • Walk Away René'', page 87. Paper Tiger, 1978.
  5. "VH1’s 50 Greatest Album Covers".
  6. Sweeting, Adam. (18 April 2013). "Storm Thorgerson dies aged 69: 'the best album designer in the world' – Art and design – guardian.co.uk". [[The Guardian]].
  7. Wilson, Stuart. (5 April 2020). "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – a visual history".
  8. "Bug Jack Barron – book 1970". Hipgnosiscovers.com.
  9. (2011). "Biography". rdevans.com.
  10. (22 January 2016). "George Hardie | Alumni and associates | Arts and Humanities".
  11. "Hipgnosis album cover art".
  12. (2009). "Les Miscellanées du rock". Éditions Fetjaine / La Martinière.
  13. (28 June 2017). "The Eye Of The Storm {{!}} Storm Thorgerson Exhibition".
  14. "LED ZEPPELIN 50th Anniversary {{!}} Create your playlist".
  15. "August 1979: Led Zeppelin Release IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR".
  16. Tom. (11 January 2024). "What Happens To The Inner Sleeve Of Led Zeppelin's In Through The Out Door When Exposed To Water?".
  17. Version 1 of the album shows an image of all four members. This first cover was designed by [[Cooke Key Associates]]. After [[Ricky Slaughter]] and [[Bram Tchaikovsky]] left The Motors the album was reissued with a new cover. That new cover is designed by Hipgnosis.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

graphic-design-studios pink-floyd english-album-cover-and-concert-poster-artists design-companies-established-in-1968 design-companies-disestablished-in-1983 1968-establishments-in-england 1983-disestablishments-in-england
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Hipgnosis — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report