He used in the IBM logo the city type family to tie
the company together. Everything he chary it to Bodoni was a more graceful and
functional typeface. IBM was so influential that itcall letter symbolized the
technological revulsion of the1950 and 1960s. As a resultthe logo became more
condensed, solid and heavy, Rand decided it was necessary to add an outline
version, sitting it in two weight, light and medium. He introduced the striped
version, because he thought thatthe stripes gave the logotype a sort of a legal
sense, like scan lines on a banknote. Throughoutthe process Rand did not
forsake tradition but valued serendipity. He once admitted that EL product's
logo was setin stencil for no other reason than he did it in stencil.
With
the success of the Westinghouse logo Rand proceeded to design the entire
panoply of corporate materials but his real opus was the redesign of
Westinghouse retail light –bulb packaging.
The one of the key reasons that Rand was
called upon so frequently by American businesses was his uncanny ability or
rather obsession to inject wit and whimsy into the corporate vocabulary
. He created system (or at least logo) that
was humanistic if not playful. One prime example of this was his redesign of
the United Parcel Service (UPS) logo. Rand said “that was the end of it
One year after introducing the UPS mark Rand was commissioned to develop
a logo for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Again he was brought in
after other designer had tried and failed. So, of course it hands to be completed
in heste. ABC ranched third of the three rational network and had an equally
third- rate large in which the letters ABC were all set in capitals. Realizing
immediately that ABC was anaturally rhythmic combination of forms Rand proposed
that they be set in the lower case design typeface similar to Futura basing his
design entirely on equal circles that comprised the negative of the three
letters and dropped it out in white from a black circle, it was simple, direct,
full of character and accepted immediately
without debate.
Paul Rand is an American graphic designer. He was born
on August 15, 1914. He lived in Peretz Rosenbaum, in Brooklyn, New York.
Growing up in America at that time and with his strict upbringing, he hadn’t
much of a chance to follow his creative urge. With virtually no avenues for him
to follow, he found creative outlets where he could – painting signs for his
father’s store and doing work for his schools special events. A career in art
was certainly not viewed as one that could support a family and not one a
Jewish family, especially an Orthodox one in post-World War l America would
encourage. Considering the rampant anti-Semitism of the time, such careers were
unheard of.
paul Rand (1914-1996) was a pioneering figure in
American graphic design whose career spanned almost seven decades. Always
enquiring and investigating, he explored the formal vocabulary of European
avant-garde art movements and synthesised them to produce a distinctive graphic
language. Rand was a major force in editorial design, advertising and corporate
identity. He was art director at "Esquire" and "Apparel
Arts" magazines. He worked at the Weintraub Advertising Agency from
1941-1954 and, in 1955, established his own design studio, acting as consultant
to companies such as IBM, Westinghouse and UPS. His logos for these companies
are world-renowned design classics.
References:
Richard Hollis,
"Graphic Design: A Concise History." Thames & Hudson, Inc. 2001
Philip B. Meggs,
Alston W. Purvis. “Meggs’ History of Graphic Design.” Fourth Edition. John
Wiley and Sons, Inc. 2006
Steven Heller,
Paul Rand, Phaidon Press (2000). find this book on amazon.com Michael Kroeger,
Paul Rand: Conversations with Students, Princeton Architectural Press (2008).
Paul Rand, Paul
Rand: Design, Form, and Chaos, Yale University Press (1993) Paul Rand, From
Lascaux to Brooklyn, Yale University Press.
Paul Rand, Paul
Rand: A Designer's Art, Yale University Press (2000).
Meggs, Philip; Purvis, Alston (1983).
Meggs' History of Graphic Design. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Rand, Paul. Paul
Rand: A Designer’s Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.
Heller, Steven.
“Thoughts on Rand.” Print, May–June 1997
