David Bowie

The loss of David Bowie at the beginning of 2016 came as a huge shock to the creative community. News of the British musician's death was the most talked-about subjects for a number of weeks afterwards, making him the most searched for personality on Dezeen over the past year.

Bowie was arguably one of the most influential creative people from the past 40 years – his unusual album covers, ambitious set designs and outlandish fashion sense all contributing to his impact and importance.

After hearing of his passing, we rounded up the illustrated tributes that social media users posted to express their sadness about the news.

Dezeen then selected some of Bowie's most iconic design moments, and asked the curator of the popular V&A exhibition David Bowie Is... to chose five instances when creative projects helped shape his career.

It was our interview with graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook – who worked on many of Bowie's album covers including his final record Blackstar – that gained the most attention.

Barnbrook said that his longtime collaborator and friend was "facing his own mortality" with the album, and the story was shared by a number of music sites.


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