TYPE DESIGN INFORMATION PAGE last updated on Wed Nov 20 11:39:57 EST 2024

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ABOUT

Richard Isbell

Born in Kingsville, Canada, in 1924, to American parents, Richard Isbell moved to the States with his family when he was three years old, settling in Detroit, Michigan. Between 1936 and 1943 he took special art classes for gifted students at Detroit Institute of Arts. In 1943 he joined the US Marines. He served in Australia, and later the South Pacific. In 1945, upon discharge, he returned to Detroit and worked for General Motors in the graphic illustration department. He joined New Center Studios in 1947 as a lettering and design artist. Owned by Art Greenwald, an ex-lettering artist, New Center Studios was to be his home for nine years. In 1955, he saw the first use of his alphabets for Mercury and Pontiac cars. Together with a group from New Center Studios, he formed Art Group Studios in 1956. He spent four years there, designing for automotive clients. In 1960, he became graphic director at Headliners International, designing various Oldsmobile advertisements. He continued to design for the automotive industry, becoming a member of the General Motors design staff in 1965 and designing the Chevrolet signature. Between 1976 and 1988 he taught lettering and design at the Center for Creative Studies, as well as at the School of Art and Design, Detroit. Isbell died in 2009 in Detroit.

Isbell did typefaces for both ATF and ITC:

• Americana (1967). A display typeface with huge x-height and short serifs, it was the last type cut in metal by the ATF in 1967. Digital versions of Americana include Freedom (Autologic), Flareserif 721 (Bitstream), American Classic (Compugraphic), AM (Itek), Colonial (Varityper), Almeria (Softmaker) and Amherst (Corel).
• Together with Jerry Campbell, he designed ITC Isbell (1981). Now available at Bitstream [as Revival 821] and Elsner&Flake; see Iceberg on the SoftMaker MegaFont XXL CD, 2002, and Isabell at FontSite.

Linotype link. FontShop link. .

EXTERNAL LINKS
Richard Isbell
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Klingspor Museum page
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INTERNAL LINKS
Type designers ⦿ Type designers ⦿ Type scene in Michigan ⦿ Photo and film type era ⦿ The Canadian type scene ⦿