Uncovering George Lois
This is a guest article by Ana Paula Rodrigues* recounting her attendance at the George Lois Esquire Covers lecture recently held in NYC. Enjoy. “I was a cultural provocateur,” proclaimed George Lois during a lecture at FIT last week. The acclaimed and controversial Art Director spoke candidly about designing Esquire magazines most iconic covers in the 1960s and early 1970s. The event sponsored by the Society of Publication Designers coincided with the release of Lois’ book, “George Lois The Esquire Covers @ MoMA.” The foul-mouthed Lois’ was charismatic and unabashful as he recounted the people and historical events that shaped his most incendiary and poignant covers, including one of his uncompromising covers, the December 1963 issue of Esquire (shown below). Lois had African-American world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston photographed wearing a Santa hat. He described how the cover “shocked the nation,” since America was still in the grips of the Jim Crow law’s. “It was my comment on what was happening,” Lois said. “To be a great designer, you have to be courageous.” He also revealed that his covers were void of design because they were about the idea — “not just an idea, but one that can change the world.” Lois impersonated Andy Warhol’s low pitch voice as he described the Pop Artists reaction to a cover concept, “I love it. I love it.” Lois’ iconic image of Warhol drowning in a can of Campbell’s tomato soup graced Esquire’s May 1969 issue (shown below). Warhol was photographed for the cover and then Lois superimposed the image onto a photo of a soup can. “I had to do Photoshop before there was Photoshop.” After the issue hit the newsstands, Lois recalled how Warhol offered 6 Brillo Boxes in exchange for the original cover art, but he declined. Warhol called again and offered one of his paintings, but Lois told Warhol, “No, it’s going to be in the MoMA [Museum of Modern Art, NYC] one day.” Warhol’s response was, “Oh, I’ll be in the MoMA?” Lois touched upon the state of editorial design by noting that 95 out of 100 magazine covers look alike each month and, “that’s fucking stupid,” he said. “Anything you work on should be a shocking surprise.” Lois believes today, “every design director and art director are handcuffed” because of the restrictions placed on them. “You don’t create a magazine for the readers or advertisers – you create it for yourself,” he advised. By following that mantra, Lois was able to increase Esquire’s circulation from 500,000 to 2 million during his 10-year reign. He also expressed he was, “sick of hearing magazines are dead,” and that he continues to enjoy his interaction with a magazine. “If you put a magazine on your lap, it’s like a lap dance.” Lois explained he viewed his covers like a canvas and that any good designer “starts with drawing.” He also revealed that out of the 92 covers he designed for Esquire, he thought 50 were great. “I don’t think I did a bad one, or admit if I did,” he said. Even if he did admit to it, Lois’ philosophy is to forget mistakes quickly. “If you make a mistake, quickly forget about it. Mistakes make you be careful.” George Lois’ Esquire covers are a visual timeline of America’s tumultuous history. Lois ignited controversy by exposing hypocrisy and created a national dialogue in the belief that “creativity can solve anything.” *Ana Paula Rodrigues is an award-winning designer who is currently employed at Nielsen Business Media as an Art Director. Rodrigues can be reached by at ana AT anapaularodrigues DOT com. You can also read her recount of the Milton Glaser vs Chip Kidd lecture. © This article is copyright of Just Creative Design and should not be found elsewhere. Related Articles: Who needs skills? We have software! (84) The Innovative One Page Resume & Portfolio (38) Stylish Macbook Cases / Covers (28) Milton Glaser & Chip Kidd In Conversation (7) ...
Published By: Just Creative Design - Wednesday, 14 April, 2010
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