HOCKESSIN, Del. (BRAIN) — Design-savvy members of the bike industry are mourning Rich Roat, an internationally known design and typeface pioneer who died this weekend at age 52. The co-founder of House Industries was best known for his work for major brands including The New Yorker, Disney and Lego. But he also was a longtime cycling enthusiast who worked on a variety of projects in the bike world, including Bicycling magazine's logo, updated in 2016.
Besides the magazine logo, Roat also designed graphics for Richard Sachs Cycles, the logo for the Velocipede Salon website, the Hampsten Cycles logo and the logo for Cinghiale, Andy Hampsten's tour company. His designs inspired many designers across the industry. House Industries also designed Bicycling's 2016 cycling kit.
House Industries, based in Delaware, even sells its own framesets, made by Waterford, as well as a variety of other bike products, modified with House Industries' graphics and fonts.
Roat and partner Andy Cruz founded House Industries in 1993. Besides his love for cycling, Roat also was an active volunteer at the Hockessin (Delaware) Fire Company since 2001. He is survived by his wife, Sharon Huss Roat, and two children.
