In Memory of Colin Forbes, Celebrated Co-Founder of Pentagram

June 22, 2022

Michael Gericke, FSEGDof Pentagram writes about his former mentor and lifelong friend Colin Forbes.

“Colin Forbes, who passed away just a little more than a week ago, was a key part of the design community, the AIGA, Pentagram, and my life.

He was a founding member of Pentagram and the architect of a unique approach to design. Among many of his leadership roles and accolades, Colin served as AIGA’s president for several years in the 1980s and received the AIGA Medal for his lasting impact on design and its culture. But this is not about that public story; these are a few insights about the man I knew and deeply respected.

I first met Colin in 1984. I was living in Boulder, Colorado working for an emerging design firm called Communication Arts, run by two veterans of the Charles and Ray Eames Office. I’d moved from a very small rural town in the Midwest to the foothills of the Rockies, designing and skiing there for a few years, but I longed to be in New York. To me, New York City was the design capital of the world — where everything and anything was possible.”

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