Ed Benguiat (pron. "ben'-gat"; born Ephram Edward Benguiat, October 27, 1927) is an American typographer. He has crafted over 600 typefaces including Tiffany, Bookman, Panache, Edwardian Script, and the self-titled typefaces Benguiat and Benguiat Gothic. He also designed logotypes for The New York Times, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, the original Planet of the Apes film, Super Fly and countless others.
From TYPO: "He is also known for his designs or redesigns of the logotypes for Esquire, the New York Times, Coke, McCall’s, Ford, Reader’s Digest, Photography, Look, Sports Illustrated, The Star Ledger, The San Diego Tribune, AT&T, A&E, Estee Lauder, ...the list goes on and on. You name it, he’s done it."
Benguiat grew up in Brooklyn, NY. 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 Benguait 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. It occurred to me that one day that’s going to be me, so I decided to become an illustrator."
Benguait is an avid pilot and enjoys flying his personal plane, with his wife Elisa. Benguiat teaches at the School of Visual Arts in his native New York.[1] On November 2, 2000, he was inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame.
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The Ed Benguiat Font Collection is a casual font family named after the designer. Designed by Ed Benguiat and House Industries, the CD includes 5 Benguiat-inspired typefaces and a series of whimsical icons, dubbed "bengbats," an exclusive interview with the legend conducted by the House Industries staff, and Benguiat's own jazz percussion in the background.[2]
Ed Benguiat was one of the most prolific lettering artists and became typographic design director at Photo-Lettering, affectionately known as PLINC. He designed logotypes for publications like “Esquire and New York Times and for movies like Superfly and The Guns of Navarrone”. He had drawn thousands of alphabets and typefaces including Souvenir, Bookman, and Benguiat. When he was seventies years old, he went teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York and still works. [3]