The Team That Makes Forbes Look Good

For this issue, our 44th chronicle of America’s wealthiest, we produced six different magazine covers. An appropriate gateway to a momentous project—and a ton of work, as each cover required planning, deft photography and a sophisticated, consistent design.

It’s worth it. Forbes thrives by producing premium journalism that people trust—and at a time of commoditized content, world-class visuals buttress that quality assurance. “The philosophy is clarity, integrity—and innovation,” says Forbes creative director Alicia Hallett-Chan, who trained under Milton Glaser and Walter Bernard and has overseen Forbes’ design across its myriad editorial platforms since 2020.

Hallett-Chan’s team doesn’t get the bylines or photo credits, but they foundationally elevate our journalism on every platform. Our designers, led by Fernando Capeto, Charles Brucaliere, Philip Smith, Yunjia Yuan and Macy Sinreich, think holistically. The photorealistic illustration leading The Forbes 400 in print takes inspiration from Mar-a-Lago to tell a story of wealth and influence at a glance, while a trip though our digital Wealth database includes an interactive map, showing where a company founder comes from.

Similarly, our photo editors, led by Robyn Selman and Gail Toivanen, consider the messaging of every shot. In this issue, besides a veritable portfolio of the powerful, they physically designed Jimmy Fallon–inspired products for the playful ForbesLife cover story about the famous host’s new marketing-driven competition series. “We want to make complex ideas clear,” says Hallett-Chan, who even created a proprietary Forbes font, Highlander, named after Malcolm Forbes’ yacht.

For the print magazine, we add yet another level, enlisting the Warren Buffett of magazine design, 50-year veteran Robert Priest, and his talented longtime partner Grace Lee. Yes, beauty requires a lot of cost and effort. We think our audiences deserve nothing less.