The story of Seventies album cover designers Hipgnosis makes for an absorbing film by Anton Corbijn
If you grew up in the
Seventies or a fan of that decade’s music the chances are you owned albums which
had covers designed by Hipgnosis. Distinctive, abstract and unusual they
created a visual signature for prog, rock and beyond, so much so that is impossible
to think of the likes of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin without imagining the
images Hipgnosis created for them. This film about their work and the two
creative people at the heart of the company is directed by Anton Corbijn,
himself a renowned designer, so as you would expect he is empathic with the
sort of creative process that leads to such well known images. In some ways the
story of Hipgnosis is similar to that of the groups they worked for- struggling
early days, a big breakthrough, an imperial period, and a downfall as trends
changed followed by a bitter falling out.
