Lars Hall (art director)

Lars Christer Hall (born 1938 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish advertiser and art director.

It was an art teacher in primary school that suggested that Lars Hall should apply to Konstfackskolan (now called Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design) in Stockholm. He started at age 15, worked as a freelance during his studies, and graduated in 1960. After his studies, Hall worked for a number of agencies, and also at the Stockholm newspaper Dagens Nyheter. While working for Arbman, at that time a large advertising agency in Sweden, he met copywriter Jan Cederquist, with whom he started the agency Hall & Cederquist in 1973.

Hall & Cederquist’s role model was the New York agency DDB (Doyle, Dane & Bernach), with their new, intelligent style of advertising, placing creativity before commerce. After having won most national awards available, Hall & Cederquist became one of the first agencies to receive Platinaägget in 1978, the finest award in Swedish advertising.

In 1989, Hall & Cederquist was bought by American Young & Rubicam, creating the largest ad agency in Sweden, and Lars Hall quit in mid-1990s, taking a couple of years off duty at his house in Stockholm’s archipelago. In 1997 he started Lars Hall AB, working in the broad fields of advertising, corporate identeties, packaging design, interior design, and book design. In 2009, Hall had to dismiss most employees due to decreasing clients and commissions.

Hall’s interest in photography led him and Cederquist to start the art photography gallery Camera Obscura, located in Gamla stan in Stockholm. The gallery held exhibitions of among others Christer Strömholm, Diane Arbus, and Irving Penn. Hall is also known for having one of Sweden's most extensive photo collections.