Herb Lubalin's Major Accomplishments

Steven Castellano
Professor Dale Mahabir
AR-172-50
14 October 2014
Herb Lubalin Herb Lubalin is highly recognized as one of the best graphic art designers because of the way he crated unique typefaces that brought any publication to life. He believed typeface was highly important because it gave an impact and strong meaning to a message. I will share with you important information about his early life and education, highlights of his career, events that were going on during his life that affected his career decisions, and his major accomplishments. Herb Lubalin was born with a twin brother named Irwin in New York City on March 17, 1918. He loved to draw as a child. Before graduating high school, he entered an outdoors poster competition
He worked twenty years with Sudler & Hennessey, a New York advertisement agency. Herb decided to open his own business in 1964. He started the International Type Corporation with Aaron Burns and Ed Rondthaler six years later. During his lifetime, there were presidential elections and the Vietnam War that impacted some of his decisions and work. "Although he wasn’t a political radical, he was much more of a “political” designer than most people seem to realize—his work with Ralph Ginzberg on magazines such as Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde put him at the heart of the sixties free-speech and anti-censorship movements." (Currey) The Eros magazine was too sexually oriented for the 60’s era. The U.S. Post Office brought an obscenity case against the publication and this caused the magazine to go quickly out of business. The Fact magazine had a black and white theme template and high quality pictures. This magazine allowed struggling writers to get some of their work published. An article published in this magazine indicated that presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was unfit psychologically to be President. The magazine went out of business after being sued by Goldwater. In 1968, they created the Avant Garde magazine whose target market was New York Liberals. The magazine published erotic images, crude language, and writing that criticized the U.S. government and U.S.
Gaudens Medal and The Award for Professional Achievement,” ("Herb Lubalin (1918-1981) | GD 203").
Herb Lubalin received the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) in 1981. This award is given by the AIGA board of directors and its membership to a person “who has contributed significantly to the field of graphic arts,” (Brown).
He died on May 24, 1981, in New York City. He will always be known for the way “he pushed back the boundaries of design” for any graphic artists (Brown). The Herb Lubalin Study Center was established in 1984 to honor him ("The Herb Lubalin Study Center"). The Study Center displays his work for graphic designers or for anyone to see his designs. It is open to the public free of charge.
His work shows that shapes of letters that “gave voice, color, character, and individuality” to the meaning of text (Brown). His ability to make text stand out and have a voice is, in my opinion, what makes Lubalin one of the famous graphic arts designer who is and will be remembered by many graphic