Colin Forbes

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 in London, and as one of the founders of the Pentagram design studio. He is best known for creating iconic logos and helping brands to develop visual identities. ) and Kathleen (nee Ames) Forbes. From 1945 to 1949, he was enlisted in the British Army and thought he would go into aircraft engineering after enlistment. In 1978 Forbes established a New York office for Pentagram.

Forbes also co-founded Design and Art Direction (D&AD), British educational organization that promotes excellence in design and advertising, and annually awards D&AD Pencils, one of the most prestigious industry awards.

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.

Forbes died at his home in Westfield, North Carolina on May 22, 2022, at the age of 94.

Pentagram Forbes was one of the five founders of the creative Pentagram studio. The structure of Pentagram can be mostly credited to Forbes, as he wanted partners to work both independently and collaboratively. Forbes also set out a guideline for selecting partners with four main criteria points: they must be able to generate business, must have a national reputation, have to generate a profit, and overall be a caring individual. When he expanded Pentagram to New York in 1978, he ensured these guidelines would continue to be met when selecting new partners and businesses.

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.