Roger McLay began working in industrial design after 1947. McLay's most celebrated work, the "Kone" chair, was developed and sold from 1948. From the mid-1950s until 1960 McLay went to England pursuing design work. He designed commercial lighting, Sebel Townhouse interiors, Wahroonga Shire Council chambers, interiors for the Commonwealth Bank, the logo for AGC insurance and other works, often anonymous.