George Lois is a legendary ad-man from the 1960s who is publicly best known for his famous collaborations with Esquire Magazine. From 1962-1972 Lois serves as a consultant to the magazine and produced over 92 famous covers for them, proving Esquire to be one of the edgiest publications in the journalistic world. It was the first time an ad man had been put in a magazine’s creative chair, a bold move by Esquire‘s larger-than-life editor Harold T. P. Hayes (for an illuminating story on Lois’ infamous 1963 Sonny-Liston-wearing-a-Santa-Hat Christmas cover, check out Vanity Fair‘s brilliant profile on Hayes). At a pivotal time in American History, Lois was able to influence audiences all over the world with his unique art direction. His pop-art, particularly out-there, Esquire covers were considered quite controversial at the time of their release and the fact that they have almost as much shock/artistic value now, as they did back then, speaks volumes for the man’s work. In 2008 the Museum of Modern Art gained 32 of the 92 covers to put in their permanent collection. They’ve now released a book featuring photos from the year-long exhibit, more classic covers, and other, more personal, looks into George Lois’ work. Lois eventually received the lifetime achievement award from the American Institute of Graphic Design for his influentially work. George Lois The Esquire Covers @ MOMA is $50 from Assouline publishing. If you want preview a bit more of his design work, check out more of his covers with Esquire in the gallery.