Herb Lubalin-A Look Back at a Master

In our quest for forgotten movements, heroes, and styles of the past, retro art club continues its series of the forgotten pioneers of design.

One of the heavy hitters of the Design History Hall of Fame–Herb Lubalin.

The American designer and photographer Herb Lubalin was born in New York City in 1918 and he would become a prominent force during the 70's in graphic design.

He entered the prestigious Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science in 1935. His left-handedness was always a factor in his inability to draw recognizable figures, but it was his calligraphy classes at Cooper Union that fed his passion for typography.

When Lubalin graduated in 1939, his first job was a display artist, which ended when he was fired asking for a raise. He joined the firm Sudler & Hennessey and began working on pharmaceutical ads and advertising promotion.

Pharmaceutical advertising is probably the most creative advertising done during those days and the “breakup cough” ad illustrates Herb’s distinct style and love of combining words and image. Lubalin broke a lot of barriers in terms of making copy ads and more visual than copy-driven.

In 1965 Lubalin created one of the most eloquent of what are called “typograms”- the mother and child logo. Oddly enough, this logo was for a magazine that was never published; yet it is one of his most beautiful designs. Herb loved to fill his letterforms with images. Putting the words and “& child” in the middle of the O becomes the perfect suggestive solution as the “&” becomes the shape of the child within a mothers womb. That really says it all about Lubalin’s work—his words were pictures at his pictures were words.