All about Paul Rand
“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.”
PAUL RAND
Even after his death in 1996, Paul Rand remains one of the most famous graphic designers in the world.
He was born Peretz Rosenbaum, on August 15th, 1914, and is reknowned for his corporate logo designs.
Rand was educated at the Pratt Institute (1929–1932), and the Art Students League (1933–1934). He was one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design. From 1956 to 1969, and beginning again in 1974, Rand taught design at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Rand was inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1972. He designed many posters and corporate identities, including the logos for IBM, UPS and ABC. Rand died of cancer on November 26th, 1996, and is buried in Beth El Cemetery In Norwalk, CT.
Paul Rand logo designs
ABC
Designed 1962
“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. It derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will do its job immediately, before an audience has been properly conditioned.”
IBM
Designed 1962
“A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies.”
UPS
Designed 1961
“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.”
Speak Up published a story back in 2005 about what is possibly Paul Rand’s final logo design. Nice article.
Paul Rand videos
The following links take you to external websites where you can watch short video clips (via YouTube) about Paul Rand. The interviews are particularly interesting, and certainly worth a look.
- Steve Jobs interview about working with Paul Rand (1993)
- Steven Heller interviews Paul Rand (1994)
- Paul Rand Tribute Film (2007)
More info about Paul Rand
Thank you to those people who have compiled the features and discussion below. I enjoyed learning more about the great designer that is Paul Rand.
Michael Bierut talking about Paul Rand’s Enron logo
Paul Rand: Thoughts and despair on logo design
Typographica discussion about the UPS logo redesign
FormFiftyFive discussion about Paul Rand’s Ford logo design
Discussion about the redesign of Paul Rand’s EF logo
Flickr pool of Paul Rand’s work
Rand on modernism
“I haven’t changed my mind about modernism from the first day I ever did it…. It means integrity; it means honesty; it means the absence of sentimentality and the absence of nostalgia; it means simplicity; it means clarity. That’s what modernism means to me…”
Coming soon
This is the first in a series of resources on design icons, and coming up I’ll provide info on more of the world’s most famous logo designers.
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40 appreciated comments, click here to add one
inspirationbit
Paul Rand was truly the genius of logo design – his logos are so simple but so timeless. What I would’ve loved to see is a logo design process of some of the Rand’s classic logos, starting from his sketches and ending with the final choices. Have you seen his logo design sketches, David?
Thanks for all those other links – off to read about Enron and Rand’s unsuspected prediction of that company’s fate.
inspirationbit’s last blog post..Blog Redesign: New Logo
Feb 19th, 2008
Niyaz PK
Genius Indeed.
David, Thanks for the great article.
Niyaz PK’s last blog post..The Best Way to Fail
Feb 19th, 2008
Mali
The simple shape, from a depth of complexity.
An influence always
Mali
Mali’s last blog post..All about Paul Rand
Feb 19th, 2008
Helen
It’s always interesting to know about the great contributors to a certain field.
“A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies.” Couldn’t be said better!
Feb 19th, 2008
rogerhaus
a genious
big paul
rogerhaus’s last blog post..BlaHaus eXperience II
Feb 19th, 2008
Harris
Like nearly every other high profile designer, Rand is/was overrated. There is nothing special about his designs except that they spawned trends.
Harris’s last blog post..Spice Girls Weekend! A Crunk Spice Review
Feb 20th, 2008
Fubiz
Excellent selection
Feb 21st, 2008
Ronald @ RA Project
All of those logos mentioned are of incredible quality and it’s amazing that one person was responsible behind them all.
The hardest thing I have going right now is convincing one of my colleagues to hire a professional graphics designer to do his logo for branding purposes. This article might be a selling point.
Feb 29th, 2008
LearningNerd
Great quotes and great info here. I’m going to devour every single article you linked to! :P Gotta learn from the masters. I’ve heard of Paul Rand but didn’t really know anything about him until now.
By the way, good luck in the graphic design group writing project.
LearningNerd’s last blog post..LearningNerd’s Site Redesign and Two Design Contests
Mar 4th, 2008
David Airey
Vivien,
Sorry I didn’t get back to you (and everyone else) sooner. I’ve seen a few of Rand’s sketches, but not as a complete process from start to finish. I think such examples would be great!
Ronald,
If this article convinces your colleague to hire a pro, that’s excellent news.
Nerd,
Thanks for the good luck, seems it paid off. ;)
Mar 6th, 2008
al woods
I’ve got a lot of love for the old schoool, especially in the logo field. It pains me when people don’t understand why the simple stuff works…’but it isn’t busy enough’, or even better when you know they’re trying so hard to find fault but for some reason can’t. That, my friends, is because it works.
Much love.
al woods’s last blog post…Woods Creative ftw!
Sep 11th, 2008
David Airey
Thanks for your recent comments, Al. I’m glad you find content on other pages of equal interest.
Sep 17th, 2008
Veera Reddy Mitta
I am very happy to know the logo creator of IBM. Great quotes and great info here. I’m going to devour every single article you linked to. I didn’t really know anything about Paul Rand until now.
I like the most of the designs by Paul Rando.
Nice bolg, good posts. Keep posting like wise.
Veera
Graphic Designer
Dec 2nd, 2008
Lawrence Anderson
Another great post David. It’s a cool resource for young designers looking to educate themselves on the best designers from the past.
Thanks!
-Lawrence
Lawrence Anderson’s last blog post…Try Using Other Disciplines for Design Inspiration
Dec 14th, 2008
David Airey
Hi Veera, Lawrence,
You’re both more than welcome.
Dec 15th, 2008
Erik
Paul is one of the best. Thanks for the great article.
Apr 2nd, 2009
patrick james
His work is pure genious. That Ford logo is gorgeous! :) And why would UPS change their logo? Just why? It was perfect. Perfect. Great article. :)
Apr 22nd, 2010
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