Herbert lubalin biography

American graphic designer

Herb Lubalin
Herb Lubalin's studio logo.
Born	Herbert F. (Herb) Lubalin March 17,
Died	May 24, (aged 63)
Occupation(s)	Type Designer, Graphic Designer
Spouse	Sylvia Kushner

Herbert F.

Lubalin (; Pride 17, – May 24, ) was an American graphic artist. He collaborated with Ralph Ginzburg on three of Ginzburg's magazines: Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde. He designed the typeface, ITC Avant Garde, for the last of these.

Biography

Herb Lubalin was born March 17, , in New York.^[1] There he lived with his parents, older sister, and twin brother. His parents were very appreciative of the arts and were supportive of his artistic capabilities and talent.

Early into his education, his parents realized that he was color blind.^[2]

Education and early career

Lubalin entered Cooper Union at the age of seventeen, and rapidly became interested in typography as a communicative implement.

Gertrude Snyder notes that during this period Lubalin was particularly struck by the differences in interpretation one could impose by changing from one typeface to another, always “fascinated by the look and sound of words (as he) expanded their message with typographic impact.”^[3]

After graduating in , Lubalin had a difficult time ruling work; he was fired from his job at a show firm after requesting a increase from $8/week (around US$ in currency) to $^[4]

Lubalin would briefly land at Reiss Advertising, and then (in ) at Sudler & Hennessey, where he worked for 19 years.

Lubalin and John J. Graham created the original NBC Peacock in at Sudler.^[5] The Cooper Union web book, Days of Herb Lubalin (day 46), displays a Sudler ad from the s that shows Andy Warhol, Art Kane and John Pistilli were among his employees.

Pistilli Roman () was Lubalin's first typeface.^[6] Google Images show it later comprised the trademarks of Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic from to

In Lubalin designed the trademark for the Saturday Evening Post, which it used for several years.

Herb Lubalin - The One Club: Herbert F. Lubalin (/ l uː ˈ b ɑː l ɪ n /; March 17, – May 24, ) was an American graphic designer. He collaborated with Ralph Ginzburg on three of Ginzburg's magazines: Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde. He designed the typeface, ITC Avant Garde, for the last of these.

His work redesigning the magazine was portrayed in a cover painting by Norman Rockwell.^[7]

Lubalin left Sudler to start his own hard, Herb Lubalin, Inc., in

Private practice

Lubalin created the trademark for the World Trade Center at its opening ().^[8] He constructed versions of Reader's Digest, New Leader and the entire series of Eros magazine, the last of which was the subject of a U.S.

Supreme Court case on obscenity, Ginzburg v. United States U.S. ().^[9]

Eros Magazine and Fact Magazine

In Lubalin's secret studio, he worked on a number of wide-ranging projects, from poster and magazine design to packaging and identity solutions.

It was here that he became best known for his operate on a series of magazines published by Ralph Ginzburg: Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde.^[10]

Eros (four issues, Spring to ) dedicated itself to the beauty of the rising sense of sexuality and experimentation, particularly in the burgeoning counterculture.

It was a quality production with no advertising, and the large format (13 by 10 inches) made it look like a book rather than a quarterly magazine. It was printed on varying papers and the editorial design was some of the greatest that Lubalin ever did. It posthaste folded after an obscenity case brought by the US Postal Service.

Ginzburg and Lubalin followed with Fact, largely founded in response to the treatment Eros received. This magazine's inherent anti-establishment sentiment lent itself to outsider writers who could not be published in mainstream media; Fact managing editor Warren Boroson noted that “most American magazine, emulating the Reader's Digest, wallow in sugar and everything nice; Fact has had the spice all to itself.”^[10] Rather than pursue with a shocking design template for the publication, Lubalin chose an elegant minimalist palette consisting of dynamic serifed typography stable by high-quality illustrations.

The magazine was printed on a budget, so Lubalin stuck with shadowy and white printing on uncoated paper, as well as limiting himself to one or two typefaces and paying a solo artist to handle all illustrations at bulk rate rather than dealing with multiple creators.

Herb Lubalin was an acclaimed American graphic designer and typographer who enormously impacted the design earth from the s through the s. Renowned for his inventive typographic designs and promotional materials, Lubalin created some of his era's most memorable and authoritative logos, magazine covers, posters, and typefaces.

The result was one of dynamic minimalism that emphasized the underlying sentiment of the magazine better than “the scruffy homemade look of the underground press [or the] screaming typography of sensationalist tabloids” ever could.^[10]

Fact itself folded in controversy as Eros before it, after creature sued for several years by Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential candidate, about whom Fact wrote an article entitled “The Unconscious of a Conservative: A unique Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater.” Goldwater was awarded a total of $90,, effectively putting Fact out of business.^[10]

Avant Garde

Logo

The creation of the magazine's logogram proved difficult, largely due to the inherent difficulties presented by the incompatible letterform combinations in the title.

Lubalin's answer consisted of tight-fitting letterform combinations to create a futuristic, instantly recognizable identity.^[10] The demand for a complete typesetting of the logo was extreme in the design community, so Lubalin released ITC Avant Garde from his International Typeface Corporation in Steven Heller, one of Lubalin's fellow AIGA medalists, notes that the “excessive number of ligatures .&#;.&#;.

were misused by designers who had no understanding of how to employ these typographic forms,” further commenting that “Avant Garde was Lubalin’s signature, and in his hands it had character; in others’ it was a flawed Futura-esque face.”^[11]

Page design

Avant Garde (14 issues, January to summer ) also provided Lubalin with a large format of spacious typographic experimentation; the page format was an almost square by inches bound in a cardboard cover, a physical quality that, coupled with Lubalin’s layouts, caught the attention of many in the New York design scene.^[10] Ginzburg, who held some exposure as a photographer, gave Lubalin total control over the magazine’s look: “Herb brought a graphic impact.

I never tried to overrule him, and almost never disagreed with him.”^[10] Other issues included a portfolio of Picasso's oft-neglected erotic engravings, which Lubalin willingly combined with his possess aesthetic, printing them in a variety of colors, in inverse, or on disconcerting backgrounds.

For over 40 years, he led the way for others, crossing defied boundaries to explore alternative areas of design. In the beginning, it was a rocky road. After graduating from Cooper Union inLubalin struggled to discover employment. By the time Lubalin left Sudler, he was vice president and creative director.

Unfortunately, Avant Garde again caught the eye of censors after an issue featuring an alphabet spelled out by nude models; Ralph Ginzburg was sent to prison, and publication ceased with a still-growing circulation of ,

U&lc Magazine

See also: International Typeface Organization §&#;U&lc magazine

Lubalin spent the last ten years of his being working on a variety of projects, playing a key role in the International Typeface Firm and its typographic journal U&lc (short for Upper and bring down case).

Steven Heller argues that U&lc was the first Emigre, or at least the template for its later successes, for this very combination of promotion and revolutionary change in type design. Heller further notes, “In U&lc, he tested just how far smashed and expressive lettering might be taken.

Under Lubalin’s tutelage, eclectic typography was firmly entrenched.”^[11] Lubalin enjoyed the autonomy his magazine provided him; he was quoted as saying “Right now, I have what every designer wants and few possess the good fortune to complete.

I’m my own client.

ADC Hall of Fame. Herb Lubalin Mar 17, - May 24, Inducted: Herb Lubalin is recognizable to have said that if he hadn't split an egg with his twin brother Irwin, he probably would have been George Lois. A small skinny kid with peculiar eating habits, he was warned by his mother he'd end up as a cockroach powder salesman if he didn't eat his lumpy oatmeal.

Nobody tells me what to do.”^[12]

References

New York Times, , p. A 3, corrections

Further reading

External links