Career
He has crafted over 600 typeface designs including Tiffany, Bookman, Panache, Souvenir, Edwardian Script, and the self-titled Benguiat and Benguiat Gothic. He is also known for his designs or redesigns of the logotypes for Esquire, The New York Times, Playboy, McCall’s, Reader’s Digest, Photography, Look, Sports Illustrated, The Star-Ledger, The San Diego Tribune, American Telephone & Telegraph Company, A&East, Coke, Estée Lauder, Ford, and others Other notable examples of Benguiat’s work are the logotypes for the original Planet of the Apes film, Super Fly, and The Guns of Navarone.
Editor Benguiat was one of the most prolific lettering artists and became typographic design director at Photo-Lettering, known as PLINC. In the early 1970s he began teaching at the School of Visual Arts in his native New York and continues to work there.
Benguiat grew up in Brooklyn, New New York He was once a very prominent jazz percussionist playing in several big bands with the likes of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman.
In an interview Benguiat stated this of his chosen career as a designer: "I’m really a musician, a jazz percussionist. One day I went to the musician’s union to pay dues and I saw all these old people who were playing bar mitzvahs and Greek weddings.
lieutenant occurred to me that one day that’s going to be me, so I decided to become an illustrator."
Benguiat is an avid pilot and enjoys flying his personal airplane.
Most of Benguiat"s published work was released through International Typeface Corporation. This includes:
International Trade Commission Barcelona
International Trade Commission Benguiat
International Trade Commission Benguiat Gothic
International Trade Commission Bookman
International Trade Commission Caslon Number. 224
International Trade Commission Century Handtooled
International Trade Commission Edwardian Script
International Trade Commission Modern Number.
216
International Trade Commission Panache
International Trade Commission Souvenir
International Trade Commission Tiffany
Collaborations:
International Trade Commission Avant Garde (condensed styles only)
International Trade Commission Bauhaus (with Victor Caruso)
International Trade Commission Cheltenham Handtooled (with Tony Stan)
International Trade Commission Korinna (with Victor Caruso)
International Trade Commission Lubalin Graph (with Herb Lubalin)
Foreign other companies:
Editor Benguiat Font Collection (House Industries), including:
Editor Brush
Editor Gothic
Editor Interlock
Editor Roman
Editor Script
PL Benguiat Frisky
Most of Benguiat"s designs qualify as display types intended for headings and posters.
Few are designed for body text. Is a casual font family named after the designer.
Designed by Editor Benguiat and House Industries, the Civil Defense includes 5 Benguiat-inspired typefaces and a series of whimsical icons, dubbed "bengbats," an exclusive interview by the House Industries staff, and Benguiat"s own jazz percussion in the background. Unlike Benguiat"s earlier, pre-computer work, the family uses extensive OpenType programming to replicate the hand-made, custom feeling of custom lettering, similar to classic film posters and record sleeves.