Louise Fili

Designer Louise Fili grew up in New Jersey, the daughter of two schoolteachers from Italy, and fell in love with her parents’ homeland at the age of 16. Her passion for Italian design, typography, and food has informed her career as a designer ever since.

From 1978 to 1989, Fili served as art director of Pantheon Books, where she designed more than 2,000 book jackets. In 1989, she opened Louise Fili Ltd., a design firm specializing in food packaging and restaurant identities. She is the author or co-author of over a dozen books, including Italianissimo, Euro Deco, Design Connoisseur, and Typology.

Fili teaches at New York’s School of Visual Arts and at the school’s Masters Workshop in Venice and Rome each summer. In 2004, she was inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame.

Fili lives in New York with her husband and co-author, Steven Heller. She celebrates her love of food by cooking for her family and her studio staff.

Fili’s first project for the Postal Service is Love Ribbons (2012).