This 1972 gatefold cover collage was created by Walter Allner, the Bauhaus-trained graphic designer who was art director of Fortune magazine from 1962 to 1974. It was photographed by Robert Crandall.
Allner went around his own home and said, “What are the objects that I have in my house that represent Fortune 500 companies?” He wanted to show us how these companies are so embedded in our day-to-day life. You could look at it for hours—and I don’t think it matters whether you’re a designer or you’re into art, because it’s these brands that are so familiar and so top-of-mind: Skippy peanut butter, Carnation, Beech-Nut, Cheerios, Dixie cups, Q-Tips. He used pills in groups of five (with one group of six), to represent each of the companies. I counted a total of 116 companies.
