Herb Lubalin

Lubalin entered Cooper Union at the age of seventeen, and quickly 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.”

After graduating in 1939, Lubalin had a difficult time finding work; he was fired from his job at a display firm after requesting a raise from $8/week (around US$100 in 2006 currency) to $10.

Lubalin would briefly land at Reiss Advertising, and then (in 1945) at Sudler & Hennessey, where he worked for 19 years. Lubalin and John J. Graham created the original NBC Peacock in 1957 at Sudler. The Cooper Union web book, 100 Days of Herb Lubalin (day 46), displays a Sudler ad from the 1950s that shows Andy Warhol, Art Kane and John Pistilli were among his employees.

Pistilli Roman (1964) was Lubalin's first typeface. Google Images show it later comprised the trademarks of Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic from 1978 to 1985.

In 1961 Lubalin designed the trademark for the Saturday Evening Post, which it used for several years. His work redesigning the magazine was portrayed in a cover painting by Norman Rockwell.

Lubalin left Sudler to start his own firm, Herb Lubalin, Inc., in 1964.