Aubrey Powell

Graphic designer and music video director Aubrey Powell met his friend and future professional partner Storm Thorgerson in Cambridge during their teens. Later, they moved to London together, at one point sharing an apartment with musician Syd Barrett. When Barrett's band, Pink Floyd, released their second album, "A Saucerful of Secrets," in 1968, Powell and Thorgerson designed the psychedelic cover. By the end of the year, they'd started the Hipgnosis design firm, at times working out of Powell's girlfriend's bathroom. After borrowing money from their parents, they opened an office in Soho in the same musician-dense area where punk pioneers The Sex Pistols were rehearsing. In addition to their iconic cover art for Pink Floyd's mega-selling 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon," the duo designed record sleeves for popular bands including Genesis and Wings; fittingly, their last cover was for Led Zeppelin's final album, "Coda." Dissolving the firm in 1982, Powell and Thorgerson turned to making music videos for their former clients. By 1985, they were taking in three million pounds a year, but their competitiveness as directors put the former friends at odds. Powell struck out on his own in 1985, first making a killing in advertising before becoming a music documentarian. Hipgnosis has been honored with a book devoted to its art, bringing Powell and Thorgerson back into friendly contact.