Herbert Frederick Lubali born in New York City, grew up in Far Rockaway in a creative household with his parents, older sister, and twin brother. Despite being colorblind, Lubalin’s artistic talent was nurtured by his family and teachers, leading him to attend Cooper Union, where he thrived and graduated in 1939 with the Student’s Medal for General Excellence.

After an early job at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, he worked various freelance and agency positions, ultimately joining Sudler & Hennessey in 1945. There, Lubalin became vice-president and creative director, helping to expand the agency's focus beyond pharmaceutical advertising. In 1964, seeking greater creative freedom, he founded Herb Lubalin, Inc., collaborating with top talents and revolutionizing editorial and advertising design.

Lubalin’s partnership (and lifelong friendship) with Ralph Ginzburg (who was radical enough to go to jail for his ideas; he was imprisoned in 1972 for sending obscene materials through the mail) produced iconic work for magazines like “Eros“, “Fact“, and “Avant Garde“. He co-founded (along with Edward Rondthaler and Aaron Burns) the International Typeface Corporation (ITC) in 1970, where he designed typefaces such as “Avant Garde Gothic“ and “Lubalin Graph“. He also created ITC’s influential magazine “U&lc“ and pioneered “Graphic Expressionism,“ using typography as a tool for emotional storytelling. Lubalin’s groundbreaking approach—transforming letters into objects and experimenting with tight spacing—reshaped design and editorial typography, inspiring new attitudes toward type and layout.

Throughout his career, Lubalin earned over 500 awards, taught at Cornell University and Cooper Union, and completed commissions for institutions like the State Department and the US Postal Service. His work is preserved at the Whitney Museum, the Library of Congress, and the Herb Lubalin Study Center. Lubalin received the AIGA Medal in 1981 and the Type Directors Club Medal in 1984. Passing away from cancer, Lubalin left a profound legacy as a visionary designer who transformed typography into an expressive art form. (hs)