As an illustrator all his work is hand drawn and not computer generated. He modestly explains how this work became iconic: “For the first Led Zeppelin cover, the image was famous, not for my creativity but because I dot-stippled an iconic photograph to avoid copyright and because my client later became world famous.” After graduation he became a partner at Nicholas Thirkell Associates (NTA Studios) collaborating with other respected designers and illustrators including Bob Lawrie, Bush Hollyhead and Malcolm Harrison.
He has also worked for the Hipgnosis studios with Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell. In 1973, Pink Floyd asked Thurgerson to design the cover of their new album The Dark Side of the Moon, as he had for the band’s previous albums. They wanted a simple, bold and “classy” design which would represent the band’s stage lighting and the album’s lyrics and themes. Thorgerson decided to depict a prism spectrum in a gatefold format with no lettering or words and Hardie created the prism illustration by hand. It has since been on the cover of over 45 million copies worldwide.
He continued to illustrate and design Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd albums (including Wish You Were Here) until 2011 and then went on to work on numerous covers for 10cc, Wings, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, The Alan Parsons Project and Black Sabbath. It has often been said that Hardie is good at solving visual problems but still creates images that delight because they are challenging and have an effortless humour. He has said that he wants to force viewers to “wear a new pair of spectacles” even if it initially appears that a picture is familiar terrain.
He was appointed a Professor at the University of Brighton in 1990, teaching on the highly respected Illustration degree as well as leading on the MA in Sequential Design and Illustration course and supervising PhD students.
His work has been exhibited widely in the UK and Europe and in 2012 Hardie was elected as Master of the Art Workers’ Guild. He continues to design and illustrate for a range of clients in publishing and advertising.
