2. BIOGRAPHY
Storm Thorgerson was born in
Potters Bar in 1944, however in
1968 Storm’s career really took of
this was when he formed Hipgnosis
with Aubrey Powell, Hipgnosis was a
graphic design studio specialising
in creative photograph which was
mainly for alum covers, these
included well known artist's such as
Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis,
10CC, Yes, Peter Gabriel, Black
Sabbath and global superstar Paul
McCartney and also many more.
3. CAREER
In 1983 Storm along with Aubrey and Peter
Christopherson formed Green Back films and embarked
on producing numerous rock videos. After this is 1994
Storm Thorgerson directed six short film for Pink Floyd
which were screened at concerts during the bands world
your. Even to the day he died in 2013 Storm he was still
designing album covers and he would also direct the
occasional film, whilst writing and designing many
books.
4. HIPGNOSIS
For many people, when they talk about great cover art, they're really talking
about Hipgnosis covers. Many would say Hipgnosis' best sleeves are the
embodiment of what record sleeve art really should be, this includes being
iconoclastic, disturbing, and turbo-charged with psychological weirdness,
which Storm really bought in his most of his designs. Hipgnosis did
something completely new in sleeve design, they brought the
meticulousness and technical perfection of advertising to the world of
album covers for the first time ever. Hipgnosis raised the bar of cover art -
and then the founders set fire to it.
5. STORM’S
Storm is most of course WORK
most famous for his
album covers designs, the
circular design is a Pink
Floyd cover. ‘Pulse’ This
album shows almost a
cycle of different elements
of the earth, along with
the pupil and iris of an
eye working as a
metaphor of the plant in
the centre; the other
circular object on the eye
represents another planet.
As you can see the colour
scheme is basically and
uses a consistent earthly
tones and blues to
contrast these, which all
have a meaning to
represent the earth.
In 2011 The Wombats ‘This Modern Glitch’
cover was released and is now an
extremely well known album cover due to
the brands escalating audience.
Thorgerson was responsible for much of
the artwork prints on the beach in outdoor
settings. Although the album cover is basic
it still represent who the band are, as it has
quirky and unique feel. There is big use of
Mise-En-Scene on the album epically the
clothing and the props used, this use of
Mise-En-Scene is really naturalist, which
maybe The Wombats were trying to tell
their fans, that although they are band they
are still equal to their fans. This would be a
image that I could take ideas from when
making my own album cover.
Another famous piece Storm
created was Biffy Clyro’s album
cover. ‘Only Revolutions’. The
album cover was recognised by
most people who listen to the
alternative/rock/indie genre.
This was because of how
symbolic the album cover is, as
Biffy Clyro are a band from
Scotland, Storm has carefully
used colour associated with
Britain, this shows the band are
patriotic and still care for the
country no matter how famous
they become, the use of blue
and red on a pale grey/blue
background contrast yet
compliment each other well. It’s
very clear that Thorgerson’s
favourite uses of colour are blue
and red as they are the colour
used on all three album covers.
8. THE CREATION
PROCESS
The Brief. Storm will
start off by listening
to the music and
reading lyrics. This
creates a ‘brain soup’
from idea can be
extracted to form the
brief.
Roughs. After this he
meets the band and
talks about the big
idea or theme they
have for the album.
This leads to
scribbling's and
wordplay. The best
of these are then
turned into ‘roughs.
Tests. When a rough
is chosen and the
budget create a
phototype to ensure
the design works.
This can be made
from anything
depending on what
the design involves.
Then if all goes to
plan a final model
will be created.
Shoot. Then they will now
research and book a location
for the shoot. There could be
a waiting list if the location is
outdoors and will mostly
likely have to be booked, in
case of weather problems.
The models are then built
and positioned on set. They
then take photos in a range
of angles and light.
Editing. With this the
choose the best shot
from the collect they
took, this will be the
one they put on the
album. This may
take a long time
depending on how
many shots there
are.
Artwork. This is the
final stage this is
when Storm will tidy
up any last minute
things on the shoot,
before handing over
the final product.
