Lou Dorfsman succeeded Golden as creative director for advertising and design at CBS. By the time he retired in 1987, he had reshaped the look and sensibility of CBS, from the design of the letterhead and office interiors to advertising graphics. Dorfsman’s innovative approach to design included a “museum” designed for the pedestrian walkway while Black Rock was under construction, which animated the dreary space and engaged passersby. His print work was equally adventurous, typified by the cover of a 1969 commemorative moon-landing book–its embossed paper imitating the surface of the moon, and the haunting 1968 advertisement for the news special Of Black America, an icon of design history.
Lou Dorfsman, designer, Cafeteria wall relief, CBS Building, New York, 1965
Lou Dorfsman, designer and curator, Exhibition installed in a walkway during construction of the CBS building, 1963–1964
Lou Dorfsman, designer, Of Black America, print advertisement for CBS News, July 2, 1968; Lou Dorfsman, designer, The Rocket’s Red Glare, New York Times advertisement for CBS, January 26, 1962; Lou Dorfsman, designer, Ha ha ha he laughs best who laughs last, CBS advertisement for Variety, March 29, 1961. Lou Dorfsman, designer, Hearing, 1950s; All courtesy Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Topography, The Cooper Union, New York
Lou Dorfsman, designer, 10:56:20 PM EDT 7 / 20 / 69: The Historic Conquest of the Moon as Reported to the American People by CBS News over the CBS Television Network, 1970. Courtesy Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Topography, The Cooper Union, New York