Louise Fili

Louise Fili
Photograph of Louise Fili
Born	(1951-04-12)April 12, 1951 Orange, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Known for	Graphic design

Louise Fili (born April 12, 1951) is an American graphic designer.

Education

Fili received a Bachelor of Science in studio art from Skidmore College in 1973. She also briefly attended School of Visual Arts.

Career

Fili worked as a senior designer for Herb Lubalin from 1976–78, and was art director of Pantheon Books from 1978–1989, where she designed over 2000 book jackets.

In 1989 she opened her own studio, Louise Fili Ltd, specializing in restaurant identities and food packaging. She has designed identities for many New York eateries such as Picholine, Artisanal, The Mermaid Inn, and the Harrison, and has created packaging for Sarabeth’s, Tate’s, and Bella Cucina. Her geometric, often Cubist-looking designs show an affinity to European modernism, in particular the work of Lucian Bernhard, A.M. Cassandre, Jean Carlu and Italian posters of the 1930s.

In 2009 she redesigned the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for its 100th anniversary.

Fili has authored and co-authored over a dozen books, many of them with her husband, the design historian Steven Heller.

For over twenty years she has taught at School of Visual Arts. She also teaches in the SVA Masters Workshop in Venice and Rome every summer.

In 2004 Fili was inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. She was previous recipient of silver and gold medals. She has received three James Beard Award nominations, and since 1998 she is an elected member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale.

Books authored and co-authored

(With Steven Heller) Italian Art Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993.

(With Steven Heller) Dutch Moderne: Graphic Design from De Stijl to Deco, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.

(With Steven Heller) Streamline: American Art Deco Graphic Design, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.

(With Steven Heller) Cover Story: The Art of American Magazine Covers 1900–1950, San Francisco: Chronicle Books (San Francisco, California), 1996.

Logos A to Z (self-published) 1997.

(With Steven Heller) British Modern: Graphic Design Between the Wars, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998.

(With Steven Heller) German Modern: Graphic Design from Wilhelm to Weimar, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998.

(With Steven Heller) Typology: Type Design from the Victorian Era to the Digital Age, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999.

More Logos A to Z (self-published) 1999.

(With Steven Heller) Design Connoiseur: An Eclectic Collection of Imagery and Type, New York: Allworth Press, 2000.

(With Steven Heller) Counter Culture: The Allure of Mini-mannequins, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001.

Logos A to Z Three, 2002 (self-published)

(With Steven Heller) Euro Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004.

A Designer’s Guide to Italy. (self-published) 2004.

(With Steven Heller) Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2006.

The Civilized Shopper’s Guide to Florence, New York: The Little Bookroom, 2007.

(With Lise Apatoff) Italianissimo: The Quintessential Guide to What Italians Do Best, New York: The Little Bookroom, 2008.

(With Steven Heller) Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age, London: Thames and Hudson, 2011.

Elegantissima: The Design and Typography of Louise Fili, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2012.

(With Steven Heller) "Shadow Type", Princeton Architectural Press, 2014

"Grafica della Strada", Princeton Architectural Press, 2014

"The Cognoscenti's Guide to Florence", Princeton Architectural Press, 2015

Magazine articles about Louise Fili

5Ws. Step Inside Design January/February 2005

Classic Innovation. Step-by-Step Graphics, January/February 1998

For the Love of Italy. Gourmet Live, February 7, 2011. Adam Harrison Levy.

Hey, Hot Stuff. Print, August 2009.

High Marks. Food Arts, April 2001.

Louise Fili. Communication Arts, September/October 1986. Dugald Stermer.

Louise Fili: Design Archaeologist. Graphis, September/October 1999. Tracie Rozhan

Louise Fili. How, July/August 1986.

Louise Fili. Uppercase Journal, May 2011. Jordan Provost.

The Women Who Saved New York! Print, January/February 1989. Philip B. Meggs.

Women of Design. Step Inside Design, November/December 2005.

Online Articles

AGI Dialogue: One Does Not Have To Shout To Be Noticed

Brain Pickings: A Brief Visual History of Vintage Typographic Scripts

Communication Arts: Food, Type and All Things Italian

Design Observer: Louise Fili's Collection of Italian Tins

Design Sponge: Sneak Peek

Felt and Wire: Inside the studio: Designing & cooking with Louise Fili (special recipe, too!)

Felt and Wire: Louise Fili & Steven Heller Trace the History of Typographic Scripts

Felt and Wire: 10 novels: Buon compleanno, Italia

HOW: My Best Work: Louise Fili

Imprint: Take the SVA Train: Louise Fili's Homage to New York's Subway Signage

Lancia Trend Visions: Interview with Louise Fili

Print Magazine: Designer Chefs: Louise Fili

Teaching

For over twenty years, Fili has taught at School of Visual Arts. She teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs as well as the SVA Masters Workshop in Venice and Rome every summer.