Paul Rand’s ties to Connecticut are widely
known, from his home for years in Weston and his tenure as a professor at Yale
University.
In 1986, Rand left even more of a mark on the
Connecticut design community with the design of the Connecticut Art Directors
Club logo, still in use today.
“I had just joined the Board of the
CADC,” recalled Nathan Garland (a friend of Rand’s and editor and contributor
to many books on Rand) in an essay in 1998. “At my first meeting I learned that
the Board was unable to select a logo from any of the various designs submitted
by members in an open competition. Several of the designs had interesting
aspects, but none were able to attract wide support.
“I suggested that Paul Rand […] might solve the club’s problem. I offered
to ask Paul […] who agreed on condition that I oversee the application of his
design.
“Several weeks later he called to say
that he had it. Without having seen the earlier attempts by CADC members, Paul
had combined several of the best ideas in one resolved configuration."
Rand would say, “If you show them more than two
ideas, you weaken your position. […] You make one statement, and this is it."
Legend goes that Rand presented one solution in
a “take it or leave it” kind of fashion.
“I do remember there were a few members who hated the design,” says Peter
Good, an active member of CADC’s earlier years, and creator of iconic
Connecticut identities for the Mark Twain House, UConn and the Wadsworth. “I
think it’s an elegant, typically modern design, exhibiting graphic wit,
simplicity and grace."
“Paul’s design was an appropriate homage
to both letter forms and symbols.” wrote Garland. “The familiar acronym CADC
was varied by submitting the playing card ‘club’ sign as a rebus in place of
the last letter. In order to avoid reading CAD, the misleading word made by the
remaining three letters, he arranged the four elements in two rows of two each,
which also made a simple square. This was reinforced by diagonally alternating
two colors — solid black for the C and the club sign and red (or a grey screen
of black) for the A and the D.
The rebus was familiar territory for Rand, most
famously in the Eye-Bee-M poster (an announcement for an in-house IBM event)
but also in an unused AIGA logo from 1982.
Alexander Isley jokes, “The first time I saw
the CADC logo, I thought, ‘That’s funny, they got someone to do a Paul
Rand-style logo. Too bad they weren’t able to get the real guy.’ Now I’m older
and I know more things".
Wayne Raicik, designer of such notable
identities as the Connecticut Lottery, Centerplate, and the Ad Club of Connecticut, admits, “When
I first saw the logo I remember not being terribly impressed. At the time I was
very young and Paul Rand was considered the ‘old guard’ — I’ll admit that it
was a bit of young ignorance. It felt a little too simplistic and a little
obvious and cliché with the club symbol.
“Over the years, as I became more aware of Mr. Rand and his legacy, I
developed a deeper appreciation of the logo. I now have a deep regard for its
simplicity, elegance and the equity it has built. Of course, the other half of
the equation is that the CADC has done a masterful job protecting the brand and
adhering to elegant solutions in the usage of the logo".
Good adds, “In this post, post-modern
environment, it now does look a little dated. It is somewhat ironic that a
design executed in the spirit of timelessness, ultimately succumbs to the whims
of popular style.
“But I do think that the Rand logo should continue to be used. How many
Clubs can say that their identity was created by one of the greatest designers
of the 20th century? Besides, what could be better"?
