Before Thorgurson graduated from the RCA he was sharing a flat with Powell, who was working as an assistant scenic designer for a number of television programmes. In 1967 they were approached by their Pink Floyd school friends to design the cover of their second album, A Saucerful Of Secrets. This led to additional work for EMI and so they set up their own design studio which they called ‘Hipgnosis’. 

The company ran for 15 years and created some of the most acclaimed record cover art for the biggest rock bands of the time. Possibly their most famous album cover design was Dark Side Of The Moon. Many of Hipgnosis’ designs are notable for their surreal elements with objects placed outside of their traditional context. As Thorgerson said: “I like to mess with reality ... to bend reality. Some of my works beg the question - is it real or not?” 

By the early 1980s, 12-inch LP cover designs were on the wane. They had already taken more and more advertising campaign work and by 1982 they ceased designing album covers. Instead they concentrated on shooting music videos for many of their existing and new clients and also went on to produce and direct feature films. In 1989, Powell was made creative director for The Paul McCartney World Tour, designing the stage set, video wall and imagery. During his tenure he directed the documentary From Rio To Liverpool for Channel 4 and the feature movie Get Back co-directed with Richard Lester. 

After a protracted period of ill-health Thorgurson died in 2013. A post on the Pink Floyd website called him a “graphic genius.” Powell returned to album cover design for Pink Floyd’s 20th anniversary box set and also edited the 2019 reissue of Pink Floyd’s 1989 concert film Delicate Sound of Thunder.

There are numerous books on the album covers and designs from the Hipgnosis studio - start here.