Monday, February 21, 2011

Michelle - Paul Rand

"Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art has multiple definitions; there is no single definition.
Design can be Art.
Design can be aesthetics.
Design is so simple,
that's why it is so complicated."

A well-known American graphic designer born in New York August 15, 1914.

Best know for his corporate logo designs, Rand started out painting signs for his father’s grocery store and local school events. Largely a self-taught designer, he was influenced by the German advertising style Sachplakat (ornamental poster) and the works of Gustav Jensen.

He was one of the orginators of the Swiss Style of graphic design.

Born Peretz Rosenbaum, he changed his name to Paul Rand early in his career, which served as a brand name. In his early twenties he started to gain international acclaim for his covers of Direction magazine.

Rand was art director of Esquire and Apparel Arts magazines from 1936-41. He was art director of the William H. Weintraub advertising agency in New York from 1941-54 before branching out as a freelancer and consultant.

From 1956-69 and in 1974, Rand taught design at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

His corporate identities for IBM, ABC, Cummins Engine, Westinghouse, and UPS are his most recognisable. Many still use Rand’s original designs today.

He died in November 1996.

In an interview by Steven Heller from Mildred Friedman’s Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History, 1989, he spoke about his main influence.

“If I was influenced by anything, it was architecture – Le Corbusier in particular. If you don’t build a thing right, it’s going to cave in. And in a certain sense, you can apply this philosophy to graphic design. Unfortunately, nobody’s going to die if you do the wrong thing. But that’s also one of its difficulties. There’s no easy check on bad work.”

LINKS

Paul Rand's life and work

Short Biography

Articles by Paul Rand

Selection of work


1 comment:

  1. info excellent. last two images a bit small to appreciate

    ReplyDelete