Edited by Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook
208 pages, hardcover, £29.50
Published by Unit Editions
uniteditions.com

Few typographers can say they’ve impacted the design world as extensively as Herb Lubalin. The man’s typographic genius and revolutionary aesthetic sense stemmed from his belief in “graphic expressionism,” which he once described in an essay for Print magazine as “typography … not just as a mechanical means for setting words on a page, but rather as another creative way of expressing an idea, telling a story … to elicit an emotional response from the viewer.” This new book, edited by Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook of publishing company Unit Editions, displays an extensive range of Lubalin’s work, from typeset ads to editorial design to logomarks to rough sketches. Essays by Shaughnessy deliver insight into every facet of Lubalin’s career, from his inclusive hiring policies (he employed many female designers based on the quality of their work and famously began a “Ms.” section showcasing women designers in his design publication, U&lc) to his controversial clients (like Ralph Ginzburg’s magazine Eros, shut down by the US Supreme Court for featuring images of a nude interracial couple). The Unit Editions book could not have painted a more complete portrait of the man. In tribute to Lubalin’s severe color blindness, the publishing company even designed three-quarters of the book in a funky two-color palette, opting for black backgrounds with autumnal orange text and image overlays. If Lubalin had designed this book, according to the text, he would have chosen this tint of orange himself. —Michael Coyne