Herb Lubalin

A design reference reports that Lubalin entered Cooper Union at 17, became a calligraphy master and was a poor student.³ The same reference says he graduated in 1939 and then worked as a freelance graphic designer and typographer.³ It also places him as art director at Sudler & Hennessey from 1945.³

A design reference dates Avant-garde Gothic, developed with Tom Carnase, to 1970; it also lists Lubalin Graph and Serif Gothic, both from 1974, with Tony DiSpigna credited as a collaborator on Serif Gothic.³

Lubalin was described as colour-blind and left-handed.³ He said he was not a great typographer because he did not follow the rules.⁴ Design historian Adrian Shaughnessy describes Lubalin as a major figure in twentieth-century American graphic design and as a progressive editorial designer who pioneered image-led journalism.^2,4 A 448-page biography surveys Lubalin’s life and work; its coverage included the design publications Eye, Print and Design Week.²

A design reference identifies Cooper Union as the location of Lubalin’s archive, now known as the Lubalin Archive.³ The Getty Union List of Artist Names catalogs Lubalin under identifier 500329719.¹