Alexandra: Paul Rand

Paul Rand (1914-96)

"Originality is a product not an intention."

Paul Rand has served as a great influence to many current graphic designers and will continue to be that for years to come because of his many unique and inspiring works throughout his lifetime.

He began his career at the Pratt Institute of New York; however, because his father didn’t view art and design as a career, he mainly self-taught himself many different techniques, grabbing ideas from artists before him such as Cassandre as well as European magazines, and art philosophers Alfred, Whitehead, and Dewey.

His first works in the design realm were working with many different newspapers and magazines including, Apparel Arts Magazine. Due to his talent with combining text with images, Rand was able to land a job as the art director for Esquire-Coronet magazines when he was 23.

With further job opportunities came corporate identities. Rand is most known for producing many corporate logos, still used to this day, for big named corporations. A few examples are: IBM, ABC, Westinghouse, UPS, Cummins Engine, and NeXT. Much of his success with long-lasting logos is due to his constant idea of simplicity. He once stated, “logos cannot survive unless it is designed with the utmost simplicity and restraint” (paul-rand.com). After looking at some of his logos, it is true to say that simple was what Rand was striving to accomplish. In addition to making simple yet exciting designs, Rand was also known as an original designer. His works helped originate the “swiss style” in graphics. A style that is highly recognizable these days.

Because of his many contributions to the design empire, Paul Rand has become one of the most influential and renowned graphic designers of the 20th century.

"Ideas do not need to be esoteric to be original or exciting."

Examples of his work...