One small quirk to be noted while discussing Lubalin’s legacy is that he was colorblind. (Brandon) The advertising world began to take a toll on Lubalin, when in 1964 he left Sudler and decided to start his own design firm, “Herb Lubalin, Inc.” During this time Lubalin was working on mostly pharmaceutical advertising and promotions until he began as a partner and expanded the practice. Lubalin worked his way up to vice-president and creative director, eventually being welcomed as a partner of the firm. Finally at 28-years-old he began working at Sudler & Hennessey as an art director. Initially he bounced around various jobs and freelancing for advertising and magazines. Lubalin graduated from Cooper Union in 1939.Īfter graduating from Cooper Union, Lubalin began working his way into the design industry. Lubalin had no prior intentions of pursuing an artistic career prior to Cooper Union, although once there he began to evolve and his ambitions grew.
Lubalin remained in New York throughout his childhood and adolescence and eventually enrolled in art school at Cooper Union. Ultimately, the designer was not considered radical amongst contemporaries and regarded as slightly outdated, however his legacy has almost hailed him to be the Van Gogh of typography, with his overdue surge of post-humus admiration.Herb Lubalin (loo-ball-in) was born on Main New York City. The inititial disinterest in Lubalin’s work is baffling, however Shaughnessy suggests that the designer was somewhat of a design rebel among his contemporaries which is probably the reason why young designers today adore his work, as they too strive for something new to break the rigidity of contemporary design So much so that, in 2012, a monograph on Lubalin’s life was written by Adrian Shaughnessy and it would be the first since 1985. Throughout his life, however, Lubalin’s work may have been considered rather ineffectual however, decades after his death, Lubalin seems to have developed somewhat of a revival and is valued by young designers. In 1964 Lubalin embarked on a business venture with the partnership Herb Lubalin Inc. Cleverly, Lubalin has attempted to connect with the Avant Garde’s American readers through the use of colour, structured in such a way that it resembles the American flag.Īlthough Lubalin was not considered particularly political, it is obvious that he had a substantial awareness of political importance, something that is apparent in much of his work. Culturally, this piece is extremely reflective of the times, as it embodies the political zeitgeist which revolved around the abysmal effects of Vietnam war in which America was involved. This is a reaction triggered by the use of tall, wide capitals, thick slab serifs which arms the statement with overwhelming authority. Furthermore, the scale of ‘NO MORE WAR!’ is most domineering.
Here, Lubalin takes a political stance with the use of large scale type which is a quintessential Lubalin characteristic. 3: Avant Garde poster competition (1968)įig 3 above was an ad created by Lubalin for Avant Garde magazine. This design may be described as a geometric sans-serif typeface due to being based upon linear structures and circles.Īs with many of Lubalin’s font, ITC Avant Garde only works as a decorative device.įig. Whilst at Suddler & Hennessey, Lubalin was employed by Ralph Ginsberg to create a number of designs for his magazines Eros, Fact and most notably Avant Garde.įor Avant Garde Lubalin developed, with the aid of Tom Carnese, the typeface ITC Avant Garde Gothic which was used for the masthead on Ginsberg’s Avant Garde magazine. Regardless of this, however, Lubalin, like many other designers, saw advertisement as a springboard for the rest of his career. This set him apart from his contemporaries, causing one to believe that he was somewhat of a typographic visionary.įrom an ethical standpoint, Lubalin had some reservations about the ethics surrounding typography probably due to it’s manipulative nature. The designer himself once commented “Graphic expressionism is my euphemism for the use of typography… as another creative way of expressing an idea, telling a story, amplifying the meaning of a word or phrase…” . The above is an advertisement by Doyle Dan Bernbech which exhibits similar use of visual pun and layout to evoke an emotional response from the viewer, however Lubalin took this notion and applied it to typography. Fig 2: DDB ad campaign for Volkswagen (1950s/60s)