What I’ve learned from Paul Rand
Paul Rand was a graphic designer best known for doing a bunch of corporate logos like IBM, UPS and Enron. He is probably one of the best known graphic designers and artist even after his dead in 1996.
Recently Ive come across some youtube videos from an interview with Rand in ’91, which made me study a little bit more about his methodologies and views about art and graphic design. Here is what I’ve learned from Paul Rand:
Never lose humour.
“I do not use humour consciously, I just go that way naturally. A well known example is my identity for United Parcels Service: to take an escutcheon — a medieval symbol which inevitably seems pompous today — and then stick a package on top of it, that is funny.”
Design a brand taking into consideration all aspects of the corporate world. Identify the icon with the principle.
“Should a logo be self-explanatory? It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning.”
