Storm ThorgersonArtist & Designer

I have produced a Power Point presentation highlighting they key aspects of Storm Thorgerson’s career and achievements.

Fact file• Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 –

18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer, best known for his work for rock artists such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Biffy Clyro.• In 1968 along with Aubrey Powell he founded

the graphic art group Hipgnosis, and between them they designed many famous single and album covers.

The stages of creating an album coverStage 1: The BriefThe 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.

Stage 2: RoughsOver 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 scribbling's. The best are converted to more complete illustrations (the ‘roughs’).

The stages of creating an album coverStage 3: TestsOnce 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.Stage 4: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.

The stages of creating an album coverStage 5: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.

Stage 6:Artwork. Finally, having chosen the perfect shot, any cleaning-up or final computer editing is performed, before handing over the final product.

Later work: The Gathering Storm – A Quartet in Several Parts was the final book Storm worked on with his team and it was completed just before his death in April 2013. The book was released in September 2013 and includes album covers artwork, photographs, and anecdotes, spanning five decades from Storm's early work with Hipgnosis through to Storm Studios. In accordance with Storm's wishes, the studio will .continue to work

In 2003, Thorgerson suffered a stroke, from which he was partially paralysed. He was later diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, which he battled for several years, but which eventually led to his death on 18 April 2013, at the age of 69. After Thorgerson's death, David Gilmour released a statement describing him as "a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on, and a great friend".