Colin Forbes studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. After a period as a freelance designer and lecturer at the Central School he became an art director with an advertising agency. He was subsequently appointed head of the graphic design department at the Central School. In 1960 Colin established his own practice, and soon afterwards joined with designers Alan Fletcher and Bob Gill to form the partnership of Fletcher/Forbes/Gill. In the early 1970s the development and expansion of the partnership resulted in the formation of Pentagram, and in 1978 Colin moved to New York to establish the first Pentagram office in the United States. He has served as a member of the British Design Council, as International President of the AGI and as president of the AIGA. He was elected Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts in 1973. He received the President’s Award of the Designers and Art Directors Association (D&AD) in 1977 and the AIGA Medal in 1992.