Published on: November 4, 2026
TBWAMedia Arts Lab (MAL), Apple’s dedicated global creative agency, has elevated James Taylor from global head of design to the newly established position of Global Chief Design Officer. The move acknowledges his contribution to strengthening the agency’s design capabilities and making design a central part of its creative process across campaigns, brand identities and experiences.
The appointment follows several notable Apple projects developed under Taylor’s design leadership, including the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning Apple TV rebrand and the recently introduced Apple Music identity.
Taylor joined MAL in 2021 as head of design before being appointed global head of design in 2023. During his tenure, he has expanded the agency’s design function and encouraged closer collaboration across creative disciplines. Designers now work alongside writers and art directors from the initial stages of an idea, sharing responsibility for developing the creative direction rather than joining the process later.
He also established MAL’s São Paulo creative team, which functions as an extension of the Los Angeles office. The team brings together talent from different disciplines to develop ideas for Apple and contribute to projects from initial concept through final execution.
Drawing on his experience in brand identity, Taylor’s design philosophy combines strategic thinking with strong craft. His approach focuses on identifying a distinctive visual concept and developing an expression that remains recognisable across different formats, languages and cultural contexts.
“James has fundamentally evolved and elevated the ideas we create. Design at MAL is neither an afterthought nor a finishing touch. Ideas and design are inseparable,” said Brent Anderson, Global Chief Creative Officer at TBWAMedia Arts Lab.
“James has built a truly remarkable team that lives this principle day in and day out. And this appointment recognises both his leadership and the contribution that team makes for Apple, as well as his vision to expand that contribution across the globe.”
“Design is a way of finding the idea as much as expressing it. Designers bring an instinct for distilling complexity into something clear and distinctive. Put that thinking together with writers and art directors from the beginning and it opens up different creative possibilities. For Apple, the ambition is always a simple idea, made with extraordinary care. Pragmatic, but artful,” said James.
Experimentation remains an important part of Taylor’s creative process, with hands-on exploration helping teams uncover possibilities that may not emerge through conventional sketches or presentations. The Apple TV identity used glass and light to create its visual expression in camera, while the Apple Music identity involved using sound to move liquid and generate the visuals. Both projects drew on the characteristics of physical materials to develop their final designs.
Other projects led by Taylor and MAL’s teams include the custom gold artifacts developed for Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums, the relaunches of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, and a refreshed take on the AirPods silhouette campaign featuring Harry Styles to highlight Spatial Audio.
In his new global role, Taylor will continue reporting to Anderson and collaborate with creative leaders across MAL’s offices in Los Angeles, London, Miami, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo. His responsibilities will include nurturing design talent throughout the agency and expanding opportunities for designers, writers and art directors to work together from the beginning of projects.
“There’s a relentlessness across the team at MAL that I love. Some ideas are easy to dismiss before you’ve had a chance to show what they could become. We keep asking questions, making tests and finding ways forward. Apple Music came from that attitude. The idea was simple; making it possible took curiosity, conviction and a lot of collective ingenuity,” said James.
Before joining MAL, Taylor served as creative director at Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR), where he worked on brands such as Dunkin’, Foot Locker, Jack Daniel’s, School of Visual Arts and UNICEF. Earlier, he contributed to the development of the first unified brand identity for Zaha Hadid Architects.
With more than 20 years of industry experience, Taylor’s work has received recognition from D&AD, Cannes Lions, The One Show, the Clios, the Art Directors Club, the Type Directors Club and the One Screen Film Festival. He has also spoken about design and creativity at events including the D&AD Festival, SXSW and the Fast Company Innovation Festival.
“I could not be more excited for the future of every MAL office around the world,” said Brent. “James and his team are all obsessively focused on designing ideas that have massive impact all over the world.”
