Apple hires lead ‘New York Times Magazine’ designer for marketing

The designer behind The New York Times Magazine’s distinctive style and covers is heading to Apple. In an interview with Mediabistro, Arem Duplessis — the design director for all Times magazines — says that after 10 years with The New York Times Magazine, he’ll begin working as a creative director at Apple in February. Duplessis will be working with Apple’s internal marketing team, which Ad Age reported in September was a new area of focus for the company. Apple is reportedly interested in expanding the department by up to twice its size, and is particularly interested in finding established designers and advertisers to fill high-level positions.

While it’s not clear what exactly Duplessis will be doing at Apple, Ad Age reports that the company’s marketing department has been responsible for a variety of projects, from website design to creating spots for its iAd service. It’s also reportedly interested in having its marketing team help work on Apple’s own branding efforts, rather than heading to outside agencies for most of the work. Whatever Duplessis ends up doing, it’ll certainly help Apple keep an edge when it comes to design — an area that’s always helped it and its products stand out.