Hipgnosis' 10 Best Album Covers

Hipgnosis, the London-based design collective, created some of the most legendary album covers in the 1970s including Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy", Peter Gabriel's self titled album "Peter Gabriel" (also widely referred to as "Melt") and Pink Floyd's "Animals" to name but a few.

I knew that there was a super-group of creatives who had designed a lot of these albums, but I didn't know anything specific about them or their processes. While I wait for the film to come to a cinema near me, I'd like to use this opportunity to share ten of Hipgnosis' best album covers, in my humble opinion, with a brief overview of each album. Not their most "famous" albums, but rather, ten incredible album covers.

The reason for writing this post is that I didn't really know anything about Hipgnosis until I learned of the new film Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis). Plus, there is also the book Vinyl . Album . Cover . Art: The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue which, I have been informed, every serious collector should own.

But first...

A brief history of Hipgnosis

Hipgnosis, the visionary creative group from London, revolutionized album cover design. Founded in the 1960s by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, they crafted visually captivating artwork that profoundly impacted the music industry.

Their breakthrough came with Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful of Secrets" cover in 1968, leading to iconic designs for albums like "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here." Hipgnosis fearlessly experimented with photography, illustration, and graphic design, producing surreal and thought-provoking imagery.

Collaborating with artists such as Led Zeppelin, Genesis, and Yes, they left an indelible mark on album art. Though they disbanded in 1983, their legacy endures, inspiring generations of designers and artists.

Today, Hipgnosis' artwork remains highly sought-after, with exhibitions and publications celebrating their groundbreaking contributions to album cover design. They are remembered as trailblazers who elevated album art to an esteemed art form, leaving an everlasting impact on the music world.

Source Hipgnosis on Wikipedia and an AI bot who shall remain nameless (they know who they are).

Hipgnosis' 10 Best Album Covers (as far as I am concerned)

Okay, so this isn't a list of the ten most popular or most famous album covers, though some of their most famous will appear in my list. This is completely subjective so if you disagree, too bad, make your own list. I still think you're great, even if you're wrong.

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"Director Anton Corbijn's first documentary, Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis), is a fascinating and suitably maverick snapshot of a richly creative moment in music history, told through a couple of disreputable hippies who designed some of the most iconic album covers of all time" ~ The Guardian

For more detailed stories about the making of these album covers, I highly recommend checking out the following articles:

• Hipgnosis’ Life in 15 Album Covers: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and More by Rolling Stone
• How the most iconic album art of the 70s was made on a shoestring budget by Huck Magazine
• Top 20 album covers by celebrated design group Hipgnosis by Goldmine Magazine