George Lois

George Lois (born in 1931) is an award-winning American Art Director, designer, advertising leader and author. George Lois is best known for the legendary and brilliant covers for Esquire Magazine ["George Lois' Esquire covers are considered among the most memorable propaganda imagery in any medium, and certainly the most provocative in the history of the magazine industry." The New York Times] which he produced as Art Director for Esquire from 1962 to 1972. Lois' Esquire covers offered a controversial statement on life in the 1960's with subjects including Marilyn Monroe, Norman Mailer, Muhammad Ali, Andy Warhol, Germaine Greer, and Richard Nixon. In 2008, The Museum of Modern Art exhibited 32 of Lois' 92 Esquire covers. [http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=8158&ref=calendar MOMA Exhibit]

Background

George Lois was born in the Bronx, New York in 1931, the son of Greek immigrants. Lois attended the High School of Music and Art, and received a basketball scholarship to Syracuse University, although he chose to attend Pratt Institute. After leaving college, Lois was drafted by the Army in the Korean War.

Career

After the war, George went to work for the advertising and promotions department at CBS where he designed print and media projects. In 1959 he was hired by the advertising agency of Doyle, Dane, & Bernbach.

After two years at Doyle, Dane & Bernbach, George Lois formed his first ad agency, Papert, Koenig, Lois. In 1966 he left to form Lois, Holland, Calloway.

George Lois became famous for what he called "The Big Idea" [University of Texas Graduate School of Advertising [http://www.ciadvertising.org/sa/fall_03/adv382j/mbabbott/lois/index.htm] ] and his most famous campaigns include the "I Want My MTV" campaign, Jiffy Lube and Tommy Hilfiger ads, USA Today’s "singing" TV campaign, and ESPN’s "In Your Face" campaign.

Awards

* Art Directors Hall of Fame: 1978
* Advertising Hall of Fame
* Advertising Age magazine "100 Most Influential Advertising Practitioners of the Twentieth Century".
* Copywriters Hall of Fame
* AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Gold Medal: 1996
* Society of Publication Designers Herb Lubalin Award Winner: 2004

Bibliography

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External links

* [http://georgelois.com Official site]
* [http://georgelois.com/bio.html Official biography]
* [http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1978/?id=274 Art Directors Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.ciadvertising.org/sa/fall_03/adv382j/mbabbott/lois/index.htm University of Texas School of Advertising site, "The Always Colorful George Lois]
* [http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-georgelois American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medalist Biography]
* [http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/04/25/esquire.coverart.ap/index.html CNN: "Legendary Magazine Covers Get Their Own Spread"]
* [http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/n_8399/ New York Magazine interview, March 2003]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/arts/design/27mcgr.html New York Times: The King of Visceral Design, April 2008]
* [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1430856863&channel=1126101268 Video: Adweek interview -- "Advertising is Poison Gas"]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1diGp3eZaU Interview: Herb Lubalin Award Winner]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWSZzWFem9A Yahoo Video: Giants of Advertising July, 2006]

VIDEO

* [http://www.scribemedia.org/2008/07/21/george-lois/ Matthew Schwartz interviews George Lois for From Print to Digital: On Location, 2008 by ScribeMedia.Org]

References