Colin Forbes (6 March 1928 – 22 May 2022) was a British graphic designer. He was notable as a head of the graphic design programme at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

in London, and as one of the founders of the

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle aroun ...

design studio.

Biography

Colin Forbes was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1928 to John and Kathleen (Ames) Forbes. From 1945 to 1949, he was enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and thought he would go into aircraft engineering after enlistment. Instead, he studied at the

in London, taking advantage of a veteran grant program, and worked briefly under graphic designer and journalist

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

. After graduating, Forbes returned to become Head of Graphic Design at the Central School at the age of 28. By 1960 Forbes had left teaching for private practice and in 1962 formed Fletcher/Forbes/Gill with Alan Fletcher and Bob Gill. (Gill left the partnership in 1965 and was replaced by

Theo Crosby Theo Crosby (3 April 1925 – 12 September 1994) was an architect, editor, writer and sculptor, engaged with major developments in design across four decades. He was also an early vocal critic of modern urbanism. He is best remembered as a found ...

and the firm became Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes). In 1972 Forbes and Fletcher were two of the five founders of

design studio, which would grow into a well known design studio, with locations in New York, Austin, San Francisco, and Berlin, in addition to London. In 1978 Forbes established a New York office for Pentagram. Forbes was instrumental in setting up the unusual organizational structure and partnership model for which Pentagram, in addition to its design output and influence, is known. With his partners at Fletcher/Forbes/Gill and later with partners at Pentagram, Forbes is the co-author of several books on design. He has also written under his sole name. Forbes was a 1991 recipient of the

AIGA medal Following is a list of AIGA medalists who have been awarded the American Institute of Graphic Arts medal. On its website, AIGA says "The medal of the AIGA, the most distinguished in the field, is awarded to individuals in recognition of their exc ...

. Forbes died at his home in

Westfield, North Carolina Westfield in an unincorporated community in Surry and Stokes counties in North Carolina, United States. The community itself is located almost entirely within Surry County, with a small portion extending east into Stokes County. The majority of W ...

on May 22, 2022, at the age of 94.

Books by Forbes

* ''Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons'' (with Alan Fletcher and Bob Gill), Reinhold Publishing, 1964. * ''Pentagram: The Work of Five Designers'' (with Pentagram partners), Lund Humphries, 1972. * ''Living by Design'' (with Pentagram partners), Lund Humphries, 1978. * ''Seeing is Believing: Identity Design in the 20th Century'', Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1995. () * ''Better Documents: Pentagram's Guide to Choosing Typefaces and Creating Better Correspondence and Documents'', Graphis Press, 2000. ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Colin 1928 births 2022 deaths Artists from London Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design AIGA medalists British graphic designers Academics of the Central School of Art and Design Pentagram partners (past and present)