Legendary Lettering & Graphic Design Artist: Michael Doret

We welcome the legendary lettering and graphic design artist Michael Doret, whose five-decade career includes work for Kiss, the New York Knicks, Disney/Pixar, and Time Magazine covers now in the National Portrait Gallery. Doret discusses why he wrote Growing Up in Alphabet City (published late 2024), wanting to tell his own story before someone else did, and how childhood visuals, from a Good Humor truck decal to Coney Island signage, shaped his color and letterforms, often subconsciously. He recounts amateur astronomy, MGM screenings of Forbidden Planet, and designing a Simon & Garfunkel Central Park poster inspired by the Hayden Planetarium skyline. Doret explains his path through tuition-free Cooper Union, mentorship under Ed Benguiat at Photo-Lettering, a formative Push Pin stint with Milton Glaser, his sketch-first process, thoughts on declining standards in signage, skepticism about AI originality, the origins of the Knicks logo, and advice to work less and live more. Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepencilpu... MRC Brand Design: https://mrcraleigh.com/ Host: Mike Rosado (mrcraleigh.com) (instagram.com/ekimodasor) Post Production: Max Trujillo (instagram.com/trujillomedia) Sponsors: MRC (mrcraleigh.com) and Burny Wild's (burnywilds.com)