Margo Nahas and Jay Vigon on Making Album Covers for Prince, Van Halen, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac

Margo Nahas are partners in life, love, and business, and have worked on design elements of some of the most iconic albums by classic acts: Purple Rain by Prince (Jay did the lettering, and you may notice Margo wearing the shirt in the above photo—© Kelsey Kremer—USA TODAY NETWORK ), 1984 by Van Halen (the band originally asked Margo to paint four nude chrome women, and after she refused they selected a painting she had previously done, which you can buy prints of here), Tusk by Fleetwood Mac, Journey Through ‘The Secret Life of Plants’ by Stevie Wonder, and so many more, that it is probably easier just to show you a composite of some of their work.

In this wide ranging interview, the pair discuss most of the above covers, and what it was like to work with many of these artists as well as how they met, why they moved from Los Angeles to Iowa, and the secret to a long-lasting partnership. On the Zoom call that the audio from this interview originates from, Margo even showcased some of the fonts that Jay experimented with before arriving at the classic Purple Rain font that is currently embedded in the American consciousness. (See below).