By 1983, the Hipgnosis design agency dissolved, however, both Powell and Thorgerson, until he died in 2013, left behind a lifetime of legacies that reshaped how digital album cover art would be created in the decades to come.
The Story Of Hipgnosis
Meeting in Cambridge, England in the 1960s, Aubrey Powell “Po” and Storm Thorgerson were commissioned by then friends and progressive rock band Pink Floyd to design their cover art for their 1968 album, A Saucerful of Secrets.
Fresh out of art school, Po and Storm took up the challenge of designing the psychedelic-inspired green and gold cover and helping lay the groundwork that would see them designing album cover sleeves for bands including Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, Scorpions, Styx and artists such as Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel and Emerson Lake & Palmer among others.
By the 1970s, the music industry started to change, moving away from the more psychedelic era of music, and instead witnessed a new genre of music such as soul, funk, rock and disco taking centre stage at record labels. Even without featuring the album title on some of their designs – something any modern day graphic designer would squawk at today – these poster designs managed to perfectly reflect the musical prowess of the featured artists or band.
During this time, the pair was inspired by Syd Barret, who is said to have scribbled the words “hip” and “gnostic” on their door, and joining the two words together helped them form Hipgnosis as it would later become known.
Around this time, Po and Storm steadily started expanding their creative lens, taking on bigger and more well-known artists. The duo quickly turned into a three-party ensemble after Gristle Peter Christopherson joined the team and helped them push their creative edge beyond measure.
Halfway through the 1970s, Hipgnosis was thought to have become the go-to design studio for album cover art and limited edition prints. From their London studio, Hipgnosis, with limited resources, capital and digital tools created a plethora of record sleeves for some of the biggest names in the music industry.
The most iconic Hipgnosis album covers include, Pink Floyd, ‘Atom Heart Mother’ (1970); Wings, ‘Venus and Mars’ (1975); Pink Floyd, ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ (1973); Genesis, ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ (1974) and The Nice, ‘Elegy’ (1971), among dozens others.
Iconic Hipgnosis Album Covers As Art Pieces
The iconic work created by Hipgnosis helped transform the era of modern digital prints and posters. Though the techniques used by Po and Storm at the time are considered to be slightly antiquated, compared to today’s standards, these posters and prints represent the individual creativity of a design studio that not only represented the musical accolades of the time but instead helped remove the creative boundaries many artists and designers were confined to at the time.
For this reason, one can begin to understand why Hipgnosis album cover art can stand as a primary example of high-valued prints in galleries across the world, and treasured by musical libraries, artists, and photographers.
Music And Photography: An Energetic Collection
Carefully blending still-life photography with colourful psychedelic art design, Hipgnosis album covers stand at the intersection of music and photography. The iconic album covers, available as posters and prints from St Paul’s Gallery allow the viewer a look inside an entirely foreign world that brings together two of the world’s music important, and creative industries – music and photography – to deliver an enigmatic experience that not only attractive but remains to be meaningful time and time again.
Limited Edition Hipgnosis Prints
St Paul’s Gallery is home to a wide selection of Hipgnosis prints and posters, with hand-selected pieces that reflect the social and creative value of Po and Storm. These limited edition album cover artwork prints act as a lens looking back into a bygone era. With a limited number of print runs available, St Paul’s helps to create a specialised experience for art collectors and enthusiasts.
These art prints can become the perfect gallery wall or highlight various interior design styles. Hipgnosis is a mixture of scandinavian design, music videos, and a broad range of inspiration taken from popular posters, album titles, and trendy alternative experimental design. Hipgnosis blends various artists and design to deliver stylish wall art illustrations that elevates the bedroom style.
Exploring The World Of Hipgnosis
The creativity of Hipgnosis continues to live on, not only as a memory of a simpler time but instead as a link between the dynamic simplicity of art, design and photography. The Hipgnosis collection of album cover prints is the stepping stone that transports to revisit a multi-dimensional library of creativity and musical prowess.
Visit our online catalogue to review all the latest Hipgnosis cover art prints available from St Paul’s Gallery.
