Paul Rand, Eddie Beck

The complex notion of “defamiliarizing the ordinary”, has driven the creation of simplistic modern designs. This modernist philosophy of design allowed Paul Rand to fabricate iconic logo’s for companies such as IBM which, among other things, molded his success as a graphic design legend. Born in Brooklyn New York in 1914 with the given name Peretz Rosenbaum, Rand struggled at an early age to engage in his passion for design being raised in a Jewish Orthodox community. Although during his childhood Rand demonstrated great interest in artistic design by painting signs for his father’s grocery store and school events at P.S. 109, his father believed that art could not guarantee a sufficient livelihood for Rand. While attending the renown art institutions such as the Parsons school of design and the Pratt institute, the uninspired Rand became a self-taught designer by educating himself through the works of Cassandre (an influential Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer) and Moholy-Nagy (a Hungarian painter and photographer). During his early career, Rand had a part time position creating stock images for a company that catered to various magazines and newspapers. During his stay with the company (circa 1937) Rand decided to shadow his Jewish identity telegraphed by the name Peretz Rosenbaum, to his iconic surname Paul Rand. Peter Behrens, a well known German architect of that time, notes the importance of this new title: “Rand’s new persona, which served as the brand name for his many accomplishments, was the first corporate identity he created, and it may also eventually prove to be the most enduring.” The reputation Rand amassed during his early twenties drove his succers as a graphic designer, allowing him to provoke thought and inspiration through his teachings at Yale University as a professor of design, and gained his place in the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. Rand has received countless awards for his designs of corporate logos, and as an author has spread his theories on design that have revolutionized the way individuals perceive aesthetics. To add to his accomplishments, Paul Rand is accredited with being one of the originators of the International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss Style, which was a precursor to the often used Helvetica typeface.
Irrefutably, Rand’s greatest contributions that allowed him to be an icon in graphic design are the corporate identities he created that are still widely used. Conglomerates such as ABC, IBM, Westinghouse, and UPS owe their logos that the world has associated with their products. One of his primary strengths, as Maholy-Nagy pointed out, “was his ability as a salesman to explain the needs his identities would address for the corporation.” The logos that were stamped onto the companies may be interpreted as simplistic, yet Rand refuted this ideology by stating that ideas do not need to be arcane to be original or exciting. The trademark for ABC created by Rand in 1962 embodies the ideal of minimalism while proving Rand’s point that a logo “cannot survive unless it is designed with the utmost simplicity and restraint.” Steve Jobs was another client that revered Rand’s simplistic design. Although Jobs’s company (NeXT computers) that Rand created logos for was unsuccessful, Jobs was inspired by Rand to put large emphasis on the aesthetic design of products to come. In a 1996 interview prior to Rand’s death, Jobs labeled him, simply, “the greatest living graphic designer.”
During a meeting with Rand and Moholy-Nagy, Moholy-Nagy inquired on whether Rand had ever invested time into reading art criticism. As Rand replied with a sincere no, it opened another chapter of curiosity in the life of the soon to be theorist of design. Rand engaged in reading books on philosophy of art by Roger Fry, Alfred North Whitehead, and John Dewey that would have a lasting impression on his work. Furthermore, it allowed him to create theories that he would later express in his book “Thoughts on Design” in which he would elicit ideas on the need of functional aesthetic perfection. Among his proposals in “Thoughts on Design” was the idea of creating graphical design capable of maintaining their recognizable quality even after being changed, a test Rand performed on IBM’s corporate identity. Throughout the number of years that Rand produced trademarks for IBM, he modified the logo multiple times showing the strength of the company’s corporate identity regardless of the changed icon. In a article published in the New York Times, Rand denotes that the failed programs of corporations is not due to the impotency of design, rather “what is evident is that management does not really appreciated the contribution that design (art) can make socially, aesthetically, and economically.” Rand also commented in his book and other articles that it designers are often placed on the low end of the corporate ladder, resulting in the businesses appeal to consumer’s lower instincts rather than to their higher ideals.
The modern corporate era was in its infancy when Rand began his career, which contributed to his success in graphic design. During and at the end of World War II, corporate America was increasing dramatically due to the advancements in media and technology, and due to the confidence in American economics which lead to higher consumer spending. As companies began competing for an increase of clientele, they soon identified the need for simplistic icons that consumers could identify their products with. As Rand’s work began to show high dividend returns for stock holders, more and more companies acquired his expertise to put their name in the race and prevent them from being engulfed by growing conglomerate giants. Well into his eighties and nineties, Rand continued to produce important corporate identities with a rumored price tag of $100,000 dollars per single solution. During an interview, Rand wittily stated “Mies van der Rohe once said that being good is more important than being original. Originality is a product, not an intention.” If you’re good at something, you learn to not do it for free.
Without Rand’s idea of “defamiliarizing the ordinary” consumers would not be able to associate excellence of service from companies such as UPS nor would viewers associate family oriented shows produced by ABC. Most of us take for granted the complexity involved in the designing of icons that will effectively broadcast the message of a company for generations. When asked “how did you become a designer (more specifically on your path to becoming a designer what happened that you might consider unusual, out of the norm, that has had an influence on how you design today)?” Rand simply replied “An act of God.” Clearly, there was always method to Rand’s madness, all while adding a little madness and wit to his method.


Works Cited:
Rand, Paul “Thoughts On Design” Wittenborn, Schultz; 2nd edition (1951)
Rand, Paul Failure by Design New York Times; 1993
http://www.areaofdesign.com/americanicons/rand.htm (electronic)
http://www.paul-rand.com/thoughts.shtml (electronic)