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Paul Rand was one of the most influential designers of this or anytime. His approach to design is considered by most as one of the most modern approaches to design ever. Rand has worked out of his studio in Weston, Connecticut for more than the past thirty years. During those years he was a faculty member of Yale University from 1956 thru 1962, he decided to resign from this position because the University had demanded that contemporary design techniques had to be used. This was completely against Rands way of designing. Educated in New York at Pratt Institute from 1929 1932, Parsons School of Design from 1932 1933 and the Art Students League from 1933 1934, Rand was a major influence in editorial design.
In 1935 threw 1941, at the age of 23, Rand became the art director of Esquire magazine and then Apparel Arts (also know as GQ magazine), this is where Rands career really took off. From that point Rand designed advertisements for El Producto cigars, Ancient Age, Duboneet and Disney hat makers. These early advertisements opened the doors of opportunity for the designs that Rand is most well know for doing. Rand pioneered corporate design and corporate advertising in the 40 s thru the 60 s. Rand was the first to have the viewer be a part of figuring out what was meant by the advertisement. The viewer was almost forced into using their own intelligence to come to their own conclusion to what exactly the ad or logos meaning was.
Rand believed that the simplicity of an advertisement or logo lead to freedom and flexibility in design. Rand was also was one of the first designers to try to apply the style of European modernists such as Leger, Picasso and Van Does burg with the use of collage and color. This let Rand develop a unique and distinct American style of design, which in turn attracted some of the biggest corporations in the United States. Rand worked as a design consultant developing identities for major corporations such as Westinghouse, ABC and IBM threw simple logos.
Rand was a trendsetter as well as a ground breaker for decades. He brought a new prospective to something that seemed as if it could only be done one way, the old way. Rand did not let big corporations push him around, most of the time he would give them just one logo to choose from accompanied by a letter explaining why his logo was both inviting and attractive. Form is what drove Rand, this is why he pushed away new trends in design.
What is looked at as his most well know work is the IBM logo. This logo is stripped of all unnecessary forms, it is shown in the most simple manner. This is the reason that the logo has adapted so well to the times, it stays in the viewer mind and seems to be easy to remember. Rand believed logos had to be logical, and help identify the company the way they want to be viewed. This went along with him believing that a logo was a signature, that doesnt directly sell itself. Instead it serves as an identity, the thing that a viewer thinks of when thinking of a company.
It also should not serve as a description of a company, a logo gets its meaning from the quality of the product that the company produces. People say that besides being a groundbreaking designer, Rand was a very smart businessman. Rand had an unbelievable ability to persuade executives of larger corporations to back his goals for his logo for their company. This in turn gave us some of the most popular designs of our time or any other. His groundbreaking ideas from the 40 s and 50 s had a sense of simplicity and freedom. Rand utilized the white space on the page to form contours, he also tried to let the hand-cut objects lead the viewers eye from one place on the page to the next.
This is a sense is a break through, Rand was one of the first to design that the reader does not have to be passive but almost invited the reader to closely examine the image and its meaning. Rands creative process is still copied and duplicated by todays designers. Rand also thought that a designer under no circumstances should design by committee. The best possible design comes from a designer working alone. The quality of a design depends upon the ability of one designers thought process which should be devoted to the making of the design. A new era in graphic design was started in 1914 with Rands birth.
Unfortunately this era was cut short by cancer in 1996. Rand brought a new way of looking and thinking into graphic design as a whole. Rand laid down important guide lines for future graphic designers. Rand being an individual pertaining to his designs helped him create some of the most innovative designs ever seen in the design field. Rand also seemed to keep an open mind by adapting and trying to fuse his style with those of European descent. Rands ability to keep things simple and to the point and his less is more attitude paved the road to success for many big time corporations through the years.
The first thing you think about when you see a commercial for IBM corporation is their logo. This logo is Rands gem. This shows Rands visual style and is unwillingness to be like his contemporaries. His style also opened the door to designers of this day and age.
Showing them a different way to be successful without compromising their artistic ability to create. The way Rand used images, type and graphic forms will survive the test of time, as well as be duplicated and copied. Many have tried to be like Rand in an artistic manner, but from their designs it shows they did not truly understand Rands message. I believe that Rand was trying to show that a logo should be viewed as nothing more than a way to identify a company, the logo should not have to describe the company nor should it be looked at as a symbol of what the company stands for.
The logo isnt the most important part of a company, the product is, this is why in Rands opinion and mine less is more and the simpler the better. Paul Rand will always be looked upon as a pioneer in this field and he deserves to be looked at this way. In 1972, Paul Rand was inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. In 1984, he was also awarded the TDC Medal, the award from the Type Directors Club presented to those who have made significant contributions to the life, art, and craft of typography. These awards and honors do not do justice to Rand, without his inspiration many of the new and old designers wouldnt have been able to do what they do today.
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Research essay sample on A New Era Of Graphic Design
