STORM THORGERSON By Chloe Phillips

Storm Thorgerson was an English graphic designer and artist who produced album artwork for people such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Muse and Biffy Clyro. He was born in Middlesex in 1944 and died in 2013. He began his career as a designer in 1968 and continued right up to his death.

Biffy Clyro- Only Revolutions 2009

Pink Floyd- Piper at the Gates of Dawn 2007

Pink Floyd- The Dark Side of the Moon 2003

Muse- Black Holes and Revelations 2006

Muse- Absolution 2003

Biffy Clyro- Puzzle 2007

Pink Floyd- The Division Bell 1994

Led Zeppelin- Houses of the Holy (Vinyl Cover) 1973

An exhibition of his artwork opened in East London from 2nd April to 2nd May in 2010. Part of this exhibition highlighted his creative process for a specific case study.

1. The Brief

The designer listens to the music (possibly only demos at this stage), reads the lyrics, and talks to the band. These create a ‘brain soup’, from which ideas can be extracted to form the brief.

2. Roughs

Over a number of meetings/days, the designer meets the band again for discussions, in an attempt to pin-down a theme or big idea. This stage is creative, with word-play, honest thoughts, and scribblings. The best are converted to more complete illustrations (the ‘roughs’).

3. Tests

Once a rough is accepted and a budget agreed, a prototype is often created to ensure that the idea works. Depending on the idea, this could involve the creation of scale models from clay or polystyrene. If everything works, the final models are constructed.

4. Shoot

A location is researched and booked, possibly for a long-time if outdoors and in uncertain weather. Models are erected and positioned, with help from volunteers if the shoot is big and complex. A wide range of photographs are then taken, under varying light/weather conditions and filters.

5. Editing

This could be called ‘selection’, where the best shot from the shoot is chosen. This can take several days, if hundreds of similar shots need to be compared.

6. Artwork

Finally, having chosen the perfect shot, any cleaning-up or final computer editing is performed, before handing over the final product.