The Design Genius Behind the NYT Mag Is Leaving to Revamp Apple

Bad news for New York Times readers, great news for anyone who's sick of rolling their eyes at Apple's unbearably twee ad campaigns: Arem Duplessis, the Design Director at the NYT Magazine, is leaving his post to become Creative Director at Apple. You may not have heard of Duplessis, but you've almost certainly seen his work. He gave the NYT Mag its distinctive graphic voice, including its cover art and instantly recognizable typography, which has played a huge part in establishing the magazine as a Sunday highlight. Once you saw a cover, you couldn't forget the content inside: A look back at the past decade of Sunday magazines reveals an incredible range and depth of work—from brilliant illustrations (see: 2009's Infrastructure cover above, or Adrian Tomine's contribution from 2008) to the magazine's instantly recognizable photography, immortalizing everyone from James Turrell to workers in North Dakota's oil boom. UnBeige reports that Duplessis will start his new gig in Cupertino this February. It's sad news for the magazine, but exciting for Apple, whose creative strategy has been lacking of late, thanks to ads that are either saccharine or just plain boring. We're looking forward to seeing Duplessis scrub through the thick layer of visual morass currently blanketing Apple's graphic identity.