ITC Lubalin Graph - Font

In 1974, four years after pioneering American type designer Herb Lubalin debuted his ITC Avant Garde® typeface in the logo and headline for Ralph Ginzburg’s envelope-pushing Avant Garde magazine, he introduced its Egyptian cousin, ITC Lubalin Graph®. Just as wildly illustrative and with the same cheerful disposition as its predecessor, this distinctive typeface evokes the tenor of New York City in the ’70s, when free speech and anti-censorship movements gained momentum in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Designed by Lubalin and drawn by Tony DiSpigna and Joe Sundwall, this slab serif companion to the ITC Avant Garde design maintains the geometric skeletons of its predecessor but modifies its shapes to include big square and rectangular serifs. ITC Lubalin Graph has a strong and open look with its solid serifs, open counters, and tall x-height. In 1992, Helga Jörgenson and Sigrid Engelmann added condensed weights with small caps and Old style figures to the ITC Lubalin Graph family. These designs have been used to communicate on behalf of brands like PBS and IBM, which may have leaned on this slightly playful typeface to distance their brands from too-corporate or too-technical identities. ITC Lubalin Graph is a good choice to convey both practicality and friendliness, as well as a bygone adventurous era in typography.