About
Roger Dean

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Roger Dean is a world renowned artist and designer, known for his unique style of album cover paintings, logos, typefaces and organic architectural designs.

He was born in Kent, England and graduated from the Royal College of Art as a silver medallist.

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His career began while he was still a student, designing the Sea Urchin Chair and the Landscape seating for Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London.

While working with Ronnie Scott's team, Roger was asked to design and produce an album cover for a Rock band they had signed called the “Gun”.

 

It was in 1971 that Osibisa's first album appeared, with the unforgettable image of a winged Elephant landing in a sunburst of orange and magenta sky, above which the name of the band was announced in what was to become Rogers' trademark hand drawn typography. This was hugely successful both as an Album cover and as a poster.

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At the time he was also asked if he would take on another commission, and the name of the band was, YES.

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This commission became the album cover for 'Fragile' and it was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration between the family of  YES, and Roger Dean.

The surreal and dreamlike qualities of Rogers paintings combined with the sometimes haunting, occasionally triumphant but always expansive musical adventures of YES' music, became a unique experience enjoyed by millions.

 

In addition to his work as an artist and designer, Roger Dean was also a co-founder of the publishing companies, Dragons' Dream, and about a year later Paper Tiger. He published over a hundred fully illustrated books featuring the work of artists such as, Syd Mead, Alan Lee and Michael Kaluta.

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Virgin Records, Psygnosis and Tetris, all proudly displayed their visual identities as company logos, designed by Roger Dean.

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Rogers' work is instantly recognisable and has influenced popular culture around the world. Over a hundred million people are estimated to have owned a piece of Dean’s work at some point, either as an album cover or a poster. His designs have also been imitated through graffiti and major feature films.

 

A selection of Roger's work, is held in various private collections and museums, including the V&A Museum in London and the MAK Museum in Vienna.