Dark Side of the Moon, Album Art

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Designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis Design Co., 1973

    If you went to a party at a friend's house or a friend of a friend's house back in the 70s, you would invariably be listening to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of The Moon," and you would run into this album cover. The party's host would probably have a black light on with "The Dark Side of The Moon" as a fuzzy velvet poster on the wall, too. The colors on it would be lit up and fluorescent from the black light. Trippy stuff.

    What is so alluring about this album cover? It's one of the most iconic rock album covers of all time. It's the simplicity of it. Prisms (represented by the triangle) were big in the 1970s. The image represents a spiritual journey and scientific reflection on how a prism works. 

    The image is hopeful and dark at the same time. What pulls it all together is that once you hear the music on this album, it becomes clear that the music and album art are a perfect match.

    The designer perhaps followed Zeppelin's lead in not including any words or identifying verbiage on the cover. Think Led Zeppelin IV. You know, the cover with the old guy with a bunch of sticks on his back. (Poor guy.)

    This type of album cover is illustrative and in stark contrast to the primarily photo-centric images associated with most artists today.

     It's a shame that album covers are no longer the visual medium for artists.

    Now, check out this incredible album on Spotify and reacquaint yourself with "The Dark Side of the Moon."

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