3. Paul Rand
illustrated a
wide range of
publications
and could
communicate
about about a
wide range of
topics.
He saw the
potential to
communicate
complicated
messages in
a very
reduced and
simple way.
16. Influences and Inspiration:
Rand combines language from poetry
and business and drew on inspiration
that was as oppositional to business as
possible. He admired and spoke about
influences such as artists including Paul
Cezanne and Jan Tschichold.
18. Bold Collage:
While the artform had been
used in the arts for some
time. Rand was one of the
1st to collage photographs
and combine them with
shapes and colours in
magazines to lend weight
to editorial, a style taken
from artists like Laszlo
Maholy-Nagy.
Laszlo Maholy-Nagy
19. The cover of this PM is
widely recognized as one
of the iconic images of
20th-century American
Graphic Design.
Laszlo Maholy-Nagy
20. Identities:
One of his strengths, as Moholy-Nagy pointed out, was his ability as a
salesman to explain the needs his identities would address for the
corporation.
21. Modernism and Paul Rand:
Paul Rand’s ideas suggested that there was a way of communicating
something in a perfect way. He thought that ideas could be refined so
much that they would not be confused.
Modernist artwork tends to be organised, without clutter and idealistic.
He wrote and spoke widely about these kinds of ideals within design at
taught these skills at Yale University.
22. Post-Modernism
Graphic design and the arts in general have changed a lot since Rand
started working.
The current era of design is called Post-Modernist. It is an era where
people have started thinking that there isn’t really a single perfect
solution to a design problem that will communicate the best.
Rather, artists and designers now tend to think that there are multiple
solutions for different individuals. Because of this Post-Modernist art
and design tends to mix all kinds of different styles together, without
saying which one is better.
23. Post-Modernism
An example of this is Barny Barford’s work that combines classic
ceramics with consumer branding:
24. Post-Modernism
The kind of design might be a lot less clear. It may be more layered
and more fractured like this work by David Carson:
25. Impact of changing attitudes towards design:
Because of his high-modernist ideals, Rand became frustrated with the
rise of Post-Modernist design and even resigned from his teaching post
at Yale when they appointed a Post-Modern designer called Sheila
Levrant de Bretteville:
26. Logo Design
Paul Rand is most famous for his timeless logo designs. He
summarised what a logo is and does as:
• A logo is a flag, a signature.
• A logo doesn’t sell (directly), it identifies.
• A logo is rarely a description of a business.
• A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it
symbolizes, not the other way around.
• A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is
more important than what it looks like.
• A logo appears in many guises: a signature is a kind of logo, so is a
flag.
30. Key questions:
• Could you say this about any kind of art form?
• How might these principles relate to your own work?
• Is there a part of your work that could be refined in the same way a
logo could?
• What ideas does Paul Rand’s work give you?
31. Further references:
For a wide range of lectures, presentations and writing by Paul Rand
on the nature of design go to:
http://www.paul-rand.com/index.php
