Edwin Schlossberg

Edwin Arthur Schlossberg (born July 19, 1945) is an American designer, artist, and author. A pioneer and leader of interactive museum installations, he is the founder and principal designer of ESI Design, a multidisciplinary firm specializing in interactive environments for discovery learning and communication. An author of eleven books including Interactive Excellence: Defining and Developing New Standards for the Twenty-first Century, Schlossberg’s artworks have also appeared in solo exhibitions and museum collections in the United States and around the world.

Born and raised in New York City, Schlossberg earned a Ph.D. in Science and Literature from Columbia University and has also lectured at Columbia and the Rhode Island School of Design. Called the "Grandmaster of Interactivity" by the Los Angeles Times, he won the National Arts Club Medal of Honor in 2004, and in 2011, was appointed by 44th U.S. President Barack Obama to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, serving until 2013.

Early life and education Edwin Arthur Schlossberg was born on July 19, 1945, in New York City, to Alfred Irving (1908–1995) and Celia Mae (née Hirsch 1910–2005) Schlossberg. He grew up in an extended Orthodox Jewish family. Four of his great-grandparents were Ellis Island immigrants who were born within 50 miles of one another in the vicinity of Poltava, the Russian Empire. His sister, Maryann Schlossberg Gelula, is an artist.

Schlossberg graduated from Manhattan's Birch Wathen School, then took his undergraduate and post-graduate education at Columbia University, eventually earning a Ph.D. in Science and Literature in 1971. One of his advisors at Columbia was mathematician and philosopher Jacob Bronowski. Schlossberg was also mentored by futurist Buckminster Fuller. His style has been described as usage of words and image, through unconventional media, to create visual poetry in his art. He has been singled out as a "leader in interactive design" by Wired magazine,

Schlossberg (second from right) with his fellow members in the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, February 2013 Schlossberg's first foray into interactive design came in 1977, when he was hired to develop exhibits for the Brooklyn Children's Museum. He founded ESI Design that same year. Reuters Spectacular at 3 Times Square, Sony Plaza and Sony Wonder Technology Lab, Time Warner Home to the Future installation, World Financial Center Breezeway Media Walls, World Trade Center and the World Financial Center Informational Kiosks.

Schlossberg has authored eleven books and has also lectured at Columbia, the School of the Visual Arts, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He was named fellow by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design in 2020.

Personal life

Schlossberg married Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in a Catholic ceremony at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Massachusetts, on July 19, 1986, his 41st birthday. They met while both were working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tatiana Celia (1990–2025), and John Bouvier "Jack" (b. 1993).

Schlossberg's daughter Tatiana died at the age of 35 from acute myeloid leukemia.

In popular culture Schlossberg is portrayed by Ben Shenkman in the 2026 television mini-series Love Story.

Selected bibliography