Heribert Birnbach started his studies in political science, history and psychology at the University of Bonn, but turned then to visual communications at the FH Düsseldorf. There he took a postgraduate degree in 1982 and afterwards worked for several years as an employee and later as a freelancer for advertising agencies in Düsseldorf and Cologne. He started his own design office in 1988, working in the fields of corporate communication and corporate design, poster design and advertising. He has received numerous national and international awards, including: Art Directors Club Deutschland, Grafik Design Deutschland, Typografie Deutschland, Red Dot Award for excellence, The 100 Best Posters and several awards from the Type Directors Club New York. Since 1995 Heribert Birnbach has been professor of graphic design and typography at the University of Wuppertal. In 2009 he became professor for typographic communication and graphic design at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen.