The advertising and graphic design titan George Lois is best known for telling the world how easy it is to work a Xerox machine (a monkey could do it), turning a then-floundering MTV into a pop-cultural phenomenon, inspiring the character of Don Draper in Mad Men and creating a decade’s worth of groundbreaking US Esquire magazine covers, 38 of which are in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. These iconic images include Muhammad Ali as St Sebastian (‘He pointed to each of the arrows and named them after people who were really after him,’ Lois recounts) and Andy Warhol drowning in an enlarged can of Campbell’s tomato soup.
Today, Lois spends his time vetting young people’s ideas for the product innovation platform MindBlower, playing basketball and enjoying the fruit of many successful years in the business. His own love of art and design is reflected in an incredibly diverse personal haul, from Tiffany lamps and Wiener Werkstätte furniture to Native American artifacts and Japanese screens. The collection is gradually taking over the Greenwich Village apartment that he still shares with his wife, Rosemary, a successful artist in her own right, in New York City.
Throughout our photo shoot, which saw Lois experiment with this year’s Life Enhancer of the Year, the Apple Watch Hermès, the veteran ad man couldn’t help but poke fun at the multifunctional gadget. ‘It’s an iPhone for health nuts,’ he exclaims, while striking classic horological fashion poses that show off the timepiece as well as a certain finger. ‘Does this thing even tell the time?’
‘It’s the kind of watch that you wear and you let everyone know that you’re wearing it, you know what I mean?’ he continues. ‘I voted for it because it’s going to be a hot item. It will be after this [story comes out].’
As originally featured in the February 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*203)
See the Design Awards 2016 in full – including our extra-special Judges' Awards - here
INFORMATION
Photography: Jason Schmidt
-
Oscar Niemeyer: a guide to the Brazilian modernist, from big hits to lesser-known gemsArchitecture master Oscar Niemeyer defined 20th-century architecture and is synonymous with Brazilian modernism; our ultimate guide explores his work, from lesser-known schemes to his big hits; and we revisit a check-in with the man himself
-
French skincare brand PERS doesn’t believe in overcomplicated routinesFrench skincare brand PERS – an acronym for ‘protect, enhance, repair, and stimulate’ – has recently arrived in the UK. The mastermind behind it, Dr Anthony Calmon, tells Wallpaper* about his protocol
-
Wallpaper* checks in at The Grand National Hotel by Saint Peter: ‘a lush restaurant with rooms’In Sydney’s Paddington, pioneering chef Josh Niland opens the 14-bedroom luxury hotel alongside his pioneering restaurant
-
Apple updates the iPad Air with new silicon, new intelligence and new coloursMeet the new M3-powered Apple iPad Air, a compact multimedia tablet built for graphics and AI and capable of outclassing many laptops
-
Apple is rumoured to be releasing a foldable iPhone. How should it stand out from the crowd?The new model is forecast for 2026, but Apple’s competitors have already entered the foldable phone market. Is the tech megabrand late to the party, or can we expect something special from its contribution?
-
Year in review: top 10 gadgets and tech of 2024, as chosen by technology editor Jonathan BellThe very best of 2024’s gadget and technology launches and stories, from emerging AI to retro gaming, laser projectors and musician’s side projects
-
Apple’s new Mac mini is a pocket-sized powerhouse thanks to the M4 processorWith the new Mac mini, Apple has squeezed its M4 and M4 Pro processors into the smallest conceivable footprint, physically and environmentally. Apple insiders tell us how
-
Apple’s Alan Dye and Molly Anderson discuss the design of Apple Watch Series 10In addition to the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple has also introduced a new black titanium finish for the premium Apple Watch Ultra 2; here’s what’s new
-
Nothing explodes its mid-range masterpiece to create the Nothing Phone (2a) PlusWe get our hands on the new Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, an upgraded and enhanced smartphone that promises a better photographic experience, smarter software and more
-
Watch Steve Jobs give a keynote at the 1983 International Design Conference in AspenThe latest publication from The Steve Jobs Archive captures Apple’s co-founder giving a typically iconoclastic performance to a 1980s audience of design
-
The new Beats Pill: exclusive interview with Apple’s Oliver SchusserOliver Schusser, an Apple Vice-President, is in town to talk Pills, thrills and heartaches. We sat down to explore the Beats portable music strategy
