As founder of Newman, Herb guided a collaborative process of innovative inquiry and design in master planning, urban design, and architecture within the firm and the profession for more than 50 years. His contributions and dedication to the city of New Haven, CT, helped to redefine the it in a post-industrial era, and he remains active with selective projects in the New Haven office. Contributions to New Haven include the restored and expanded City Hall, award-winning restoration of Union Station, urban renewal projects such as Chapel Square Mall, Science Park and the Arts Center District, as well as numerous projects at Yale University

He began his career as an architectural designer with I.M. Pei and Partners in New York, working on international projects including Place Ville Marie in Montreal, Canada. He established the firm in New Haven in 1964, and began teaching at the Yale School of Architecture as a design critic. With Charles Moore and Kent Bloomer, he initiated the Yale School of Architecture Building Project, a cornerstone of the graduate architecture program. He continues to serve as a design critic and project coordinator.

Herb’s leadership and design accomplishments have been widely acknowledged. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects; he earned the AIA’s Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture, as well as five national AIA awards and more than 20 Connecticut AIA awards. He is a recipient of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven's Newton Schenk III Award for Lifetime Achievement in and Contribution to the Arts, recognizing his broad achievements in architecture. He has authored numerous articles and has served as a Visiting Critic, Juror, and Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Tennessee.