Colin Forbes (graphic designer)
Colin Forbes is a British graphic designer. He is notable as a former head of the graphic design program at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, and as one of the founders of the Pentagram design studio.
Forbes was born in London in 1928. He studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London and worked briefly under graphic designer and journalist Herbert Spencer. 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 and the firm became Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes). In 1972 Forbes and Fletcher were two of the five founders of Pentagram design studio, a leading studio in the world of design. He worked with Alan Kitching at this time.
With his partners at Fletcher/Forbes/Gill and 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.
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. (ISBN 978-1873968239)
- Better Documents: Pentagram's Guide to Choosing Typefaces and Creating Better Correspondence and Documents, Graphis Press, 2000. (ISBN 978-1888001945)