Celebrating The Life Of The Greatest Graphic Designer-Paul Rand

Summary

This video celebrates the birthday of Paul Rand, a legendary graphic designer, on August 15th. It explores his life, career, and contributions to design, including his work on logos for IBM, ABC, and Steve Jobs' NeXT. Rand's philosophy on design, his approach to corporate identity, and his influence on the field are highlighted, showcasing his timeless impact on art and design.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Paul Rand, born as Paul Rosenbaum, was a self-taught graphic designer who changed the landscape of design.
• 📚 He studied at the Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, and the Art Students League, but considered himself primarily self-taught.
• 🎓 At just 23, Rand was entrusted with the art direction of Esquire and Apparel Arts, showcasing his mature design skills early in his career.
• 📰 His editorial work for Direction magazine was revolutionary, drawing inspiration from modern art movements and creating a new style of graphic design.
• 🖌️ Rand's approach to advertising design was innovative, focusing on the coherence between graphics and type to create ads that were both visually appealing and effective.
• 🔠 His corporate design work included iconic logos for IBM, ABC, and UPS, many of which are still in use today.
• 🔄 Rand's IBM logo evolution is a testament to his attention to detail and his pursuit of design perfection.
• 🏫 He was a prolific educator, teaching at Yale and other universities, and influencing generations of designers.
• 📚 Rand authored influential books on design, offering insights into his design philosophy and process.
• 🎨 Apart from graphic design, Rand was also a painter, creating over a hundred book covers and a movie poster.
• 🌐 His work has been inspirational to many designers, including Lou Danziger and Kyle Cooper, and his influence is still felt in contemporary design.

Q & A

What is the significance of August 15th in the context of Paul Rand's life?

August 15th is the birthday anniversary of Paul Rand, the late, famous, and iconic graphic designer.

What was Paul Rand's original name before he changed it?

Paul Rand was originally born as Peretz Rosenbaum.

At which educational institutions did Paul Rand study?

Paul Rand studied at the Pratt Institute, Parson's School of Design, and the Art Students League.

How did Paul Rand describe his own learning process in design?

Paul Rand considered himself self-taught, learning design by observing the work of others and considering himself as learning from European greats and design magazines.

What was the first significant phase of Paul Rand's career?

The first significant phase of Paul Rand's career was the editorial part where he created stock graphics and art directed for magazines like Esquire and Apparel Arts.

What magazine allowed Paul Rand total creative freedom and resulted in revolutionary covers?

The magazine that allowed Paul Rand total creative freedom was Direction.

What was the second major phase of Paul Rand's career?

The second major phase of Paul Rand's career was advertisement, where he became the art director of William H. Weintraub's advertising agency.

How did Paul Rand's approach to advertisement design differ from the norm before him?

Paul Rand minimized the role of copy and maximized the coherence between graphics and type, creating ads where graphics and type act as one unit.

What is the most well-known phase of Paul Rand's career?

The most well-known phase of Paul Rand's career is corporate design, where he created some of the biggest corporate identities that still endure today.

What was Paul Rand's approach to logo design?

Paul Rand approached logo design as a business problem that needs to be solved, often providing only one solution to a client, similar to how a doctor provides a solution to a patient.

What is unique about the way Paul Rand presented his logo designs?

Paul Rand presented his logo designs in small booklets that showed the evolution and progression of the logo, which served as a master class in logo presentation.

What other creative pursuits did Paul Rand engage in outside of graphic design?

Paul Rand was also a painter, having worked on over a hundred book covers and a movie poster. He also published four children's books with his first wife, wrote, and designed their home in Connecticut.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Life and Legacy of Paul Rand

This paragraph introduces the video script's purpose to honor the birthday anniversary of Paul Rand, a legendary graphic designer. Born as Paul Rosenbaum in Brooklyn, New York, in 1914, Rand changed his name later in his career. He studied at prestigious institutions but considered himself self-taught, learning from observing the work of European designers and design magazines. His career began early, focusing on editorial design, creating stock graphics, and art directing for Esquire and Apparel Arts at the age of 23. His work for Direction magazine was particularly groundbreaking, drawing from modern art movements and establishing him as a top-tier designer.

05:01

📰 Evolution of Rand's Design Philosophy

The second paragraph delves into the evolution of Paul Rand's design philosophy and his significant contributions to corporate identity. Rand's approach to design was characterized by simplicity, wit, and a focus on the coherence between graphics and type. He revolutionized advertisement design by minimizing text and maximizing visual impact. His corporate design work includes iconic logos for IBM, Westinghouse, ABC, and Cummins. Rand's process involved creating brochures to showcase the logo's evolution, emphasizing the importance of design elements like size, positioning, and material. His work with Steve Jobs on the NeXT logo highlighted his philosophy of solving business problems through design.

10:01

🏢 Pioneering Corporate Design

This paragraph highlights Paul Rand's influence on corporate design, extending beyond logos to include annual reports and packaging. Rand transformed mundane documents into showcases of a company's identity and turned product packages into design statements. His approach to design was holistic, aiming to touch emotions and elevate the human spirit. Rand was also a painter, creating book covers, children's books, and even designing his own home. His work has inspired generations of designers and continues to influence contemporary art and design.

15:01

🌟 The Enduring Impact of Paul Rand

The final paragraph reflects on the enduring impact of Paul Rand's work and his role as an inspiration to many designers. It mentions his final projects and publications before his death in 1996. Rand's belief in the power of design to improve life quality and his influence on the design industry are emphasized. The paragraph concludes by encouraging viewers to study Rand's work and life, acknowledging his status as a foundational figure in contemporary design.

Keywords

💡Paul Rand

Paul Rand was a highly influential American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs. He is considered one of the pioneers of the field. In the video, Rand's life and career are celebrated, highlighting his significant contributions to graphic design, such as his work on logos for IBM, ABC, and UPS.

💡Graphic Design

Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas through images and text. The video emphasizes Rand's impact on this field, showcasing his innovative approaches to editorial design, advertising, and corporate identity.

💡Editorial Design

Editorial design refers to the visual presentation of text and images in publications such as magazines and newspapers. Rand's work in editorial design is highlighted, particularly his groundbreaking covers for 'Direction' magazine, which were a significant departure from the norm at the time.

💡Corporate Identity

Corporate identity is the set of visual elements that represent a company, including logos, colors, and typography. Rand is noted for creating some of the most enduring corporate identities, such as the IBM logo, which has remained largely unchanged for decades.

💡Logo Design

Logo design is a subset of graphic design, focusing on creating visual identifiers for companies or products. Rand's approach to logo design is discussed in the video, emphasizing his philosophy of simplicity and the importance of a logo in solving a business problem.

💡Self-Taught

Being self-taught implies learning without formal education, often through personal study and practice. Rand considered himself self-taught, learning design by observing the work of others and being inspired by European design greats, despite having studied at prestigious institutions.

💡Advertising

Advertising is a marketing communication that promotes products, services, or ideas. Rand's influence on advertising is noted, particularly his approach to ad design that emphasized visual elements and minimal copy, which was a radical shift from the cluttered, text-heavy ads of his time.

💡Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., is mentioned in relation to Rand's work on the logo for NeXT, the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple. This collaboration illustrates Rand's ability to create logos that were both simple and meaningful.

💡Design Philosophy

A design philosophy is a set of principles that guide a designer's approach to their work. Rand's philosophy is discussed, including his belief in the importance of simplicity, the designer's role in improving life, and his approach to logo design as problem-solving.

💡Timelessness

Timelessness in design refers to the ability of a design to remain relevant and effective over time. The video highlights Rand's pursuit of timeless design, as evidenced by his logos and corporate identities that have endured for decades.

💡Influence

Influence here refers to the effect that Rand's work and teachings have had on other designers and the field of graphic design as a whole. The video mentions how Rand's style and principles have been referenced and continue to inspire designers today.

Highlights

Paul Rand, born as Paul Rosenbaum, is considered the most famous and iconic graphic designer of all time.

Rand changed his name from Paul Rosenbaum to Paul Rand later in his career.

He studied at the Pratt Institute, Parson's School of Design, and the Art Students League.

Rand considered himself self-taught, learning design by observing the work of European greats.

Rand's career started young, with a distinct division into editorial, advertisement, and corporate design.

At 23, Rand was trusted with the art direction of Esquire and Apparel Arts (now GQ).

His most notable editorial work was a series of covers for the small magazine Direction.

Rand's advertisement work introduced a new style that minimized copy and maximized visual focus.

He believed in coherence between graphics and type, which was a radical approach at the time.

Rand's corporate design work includes some of the biggest corporate identities still in use today.

In 1956, Rand introduced the IBM logo, which has endured for decades with minor modifications.

Rand's approach to logo design was to solve business problems, not just create art.

He created the Next logo for Steve Jobs' computer company, integrating the company name within the symbol.

Rand's设计理念强调简洁性，并且他不追随潮流，而是追求优秀设计。

Rand's logo presentations were unique, often in the form of booklets showing the logo's evolution.

He also excelled in painting, writing, and designing book covers and even a movie poster.

Rand's work has been influential, inspiring many designers and shaping the field of graphic design.

Rand passed away in 1996, leaving behind a legacy of design brilliance and innovation.

Transcripts

[Music]

hey what's up everybody today the 15th

of august

is the birthday anniversary of the late

paul rand the most famous and iconic

graphic designer

of all time we wanted to honor this

anniversary by taking a look at rand's

life

and career and introduce you to this

pioneer of design

and hopefully inspire you to go out

there and study his work and read some

of his books

on design there's no way we're going to

be able to cover

everything in one video but we will do

our best to hit some of the highlights

let's get started the years 1914

brooklyn new york paul ryan was born as

parrots

rosenbaum that's right guys he changed

his name

to paul brand later on in his career but

more on that later

between 1929 and 1934 he studied at the

pratt institute

parsons school of design and the art

students league yet despite this

he considers himself self-taught and in

a visit to no other than arts center the

school i graduated from and taught at

he mentioned that he learned design by

looking at other people's work

as schools back then weren't teaching

good design according to him

he taught himself by observing the work

of european greats like cassandra

and was often inspired by the work found

in design magazines like

gerbrash graphique which actually still

exists today but renamed

novum magazine his career started at a

very young age

it could be distinctly divided into

three main parts with some overlapping

here and there

the first is the editorial part ran

started his career creating stock

graphics for syndicate that sells them

to magazines and newspapers

but his major calling in editorial came

when esquire

and apparel arts now gq trusted him with

their art direction at the young age of

just 23.

can you believe that rand quashed any

suspicion about his art directorship

with a number of astounding covers

created for apparel arts that showcased

his mature design skills

and established him as a first rank

designer his most notable editorial work

however

was a series of covers he did for a

relatively small magazine called

direction

where he had total creative freedom the

covers were

revolutionary and a far cry from the

editorial style of those times

he drew inspiration from modern art

movements and made this amazing link

with graphic design applications

giving birth to timeless covers just

look at this

[Music]

now it was during this editorial phase

of his career that ran

devised the persona that is paul ran

changing his name from parrots rosenbaum

in what peter barons considers to be

rand's first and most enduring corporate

identity the second part of rand's

career is the advertisement part

in 1941 and for 13 years ran became the

art director of william h

weintraub's advertising agency brand's

work during this phase can still

be seen in the use of symbols that

convey multiple meanings

as well as a spirit of wit in today's

advertisements

before ran there was a big emphasis on

copy

and you would see ads with loads of copy

and minimal use of visuals

and when you see visual focus ads more

often than not

they were very cluttered paul rand

influenced by the european style of

design

approached ad design in a radically

different way he saw graphics and type

as a continuum when done right coherence

between the two can be achieved he

minimized the role of copy to its

essentials to breathe space into his

designs and maximize its relation to the

graphics producing ads

where graphics and type act as one unit

conveying the message of the ad

while at the same time injecting

elements of art beauty

and even wit all in service of selling a

product you can particularly see the

execution of these principles in his

terrific ads for

mr disney hats an amazing pairing of

graphics and type

hugely contributing to the main goal of

the ad which is to showcase the product

you can also witness the signature style

of paul rand in the wonderfully playful

ads for coronet brandy for which he

also designed the logo and if you paid

attention to his work so far

you'll see that almost always rand

signed his work

similar to what an artist does with his

paintings and when asked about this by

stephen heller

rand responded i signed simply as a way

of publicizing myself we have now

reached a third part of rand's career

and arguably the longest and most known

publicly

and that is corporate design rand is

responsible for some of the biggest

corporate identities to this day

and his logos often endured for decades

many of which

still are in use today rand's major

breakaway in the corporate design world

came in 1956

when ibm's watson jr hired

eliot noyes to create an

all-encompassing corporate design

program for ibm one of elliot's first

decisions was to hire the services of

paul rand

to redesign their corporate logo among

many other design contributions over the

following years

ren introduced the ibm logo in 1956

using the same letters and form we know

today sans the stripes

but ran was bothered by the rhythm the

letters created

considering the i a light with letter

the b as a medium with and the m the

widest

it created this ascending rhythm and it

didn't go well with him

he worked on solving this issue for

years and he came up with a 13-strike

version

of the ibm logo in 1967 with the eight

stripe version that's still in use today

following in 1972 making the ibm

corporate logo one of the longest

enduring logos

still in use today among his other major

logo designs that stood the test of time

include color forms logo in 1959

westinghouse logo in 1960 abc

cummins both in 1962 and the aiga logo

just to name a few guys just a really

interesting article online by

morningstar

founder joe monsuetto recalling the

events working with paul rand

on their new logo in 1991 but not every

great work of paul ran can still be seen

today

notable examples include the excellent

ups logo created in 1961.

it was discontinued in 2003 enron's logo

in 1996 one of the

last he worked on in yale university

press logo

in 1985 which yale phased out starting

in 2009

rand also taught at yale among other

universities for decades

but perhaps rand's most famous client

was none other than

steve jobs for which rand created the

next logo in 1986.

steve had just left apple and started

his new computer company

soon to be known as nex and he didn't

want another logo type for his new

company

he was inspired by logos that contain

symbols that can be used

independently of the logo type similar

to what apple had

the problem however was that to be able

to use the symbol independently of the

name of the company

it usually takes many years and tens of

millions of dollars to associate them

together

and paul rand solved that problem by

making steve a logo that contained the

name of the company

within the symbol itself don't look at

the back

first this is the front and don't get

scared this is not the design

steve talks in an interview on how rand

approached this challenge

as a problem that had to be solved

rather than an artistic challenge for

its own sake

this among many others showed the

distinct philosophy paul rand

had regarding logo design he often

approached logo design as a business

problem that needs to be solved

refusing to give clients several logo

options

in an interview with migs he gave an

ingenious analogy

of how when you go to the doctor he

doesn't give you options

he gives you the solution to your

problem you pay for it

then it's up to you whether or not you

take it and become better or not

and rand did the same with steve jobs

and his other clients rand was an avid

defender of simplicity

and design on the condition that a

terrific idea was in place

he didn't conform to trends and being

fashionable and often quoted ludwig mies

saying don't try to be original just try

to be good

he believed that logos don't have to

illustrate what the business does or

represent

and that they become meaningful only

after being used

seen and associated with the business

another unique trait of rand's logo

design

is the way he presents his logos he

prints out these brochures

as he calls them and there are small

booklets that show the evolution and

progression of the logo

and they are simply a master class in

logo presentation

and explaining the rationale behind some

of the decisions taken while creating

the logo

there's a wonderful snippet on youtube

of paul ryan unveiling the next logo to

steve jobs

and a bunch of next employees that you

should go check it out but i also wanted

to give you a quick look from one of

these booklets and it's for

education first back in 1994 it's one of

the highest resolution ones we could

find

and is a nice little journey through

rent's rationale behind its work

keep in mind guys ef is an international

education company that specializes in

language learning

now this is important to know to kind of

make sense of the decisions rand made

so let's take a look this is the front

cover and you will see

in a second how this cover sets up the

tone for what comes next

page one is for the title and you can

see his clean design aesthetics and use

of contrast we talked about earlier

i would imagine if the back of the front

cover was also white

it would have been much less interesting

in the next page ren gives a small

explanation on what a logo is

and what should be expected of it that's

really important because you have to

keep in mind

that these logos aren't just presented

to a company's in-house design

department

or marketing department there's usually

a number of top management and

department heads

present in the presentation and this

short explanation

helps by managing the expectation levels

through educating those who aren't very

familiar with the creative process

then he shows some of the exploration he

came up with and explains

why they were abandoned because they

didn't serve the purpose of the logos to

use

in the best possible way in the next

page you'll see the shape that ren goes

on to describe

as the embryo of a graphic idea

next rand introduces the final iteration

he settled on

and explains how this sound wave pattern

serves as an important

decorative and mnemonic purpose in

addition

adding an organic feel to the logo

provides a contrast to the straight

lines of the letters

in the next page rand explains how best

to partner the logo with accompanying

text

and in the next three pages rand

explains how important it is to pay

attention to design elements

like logo size logo positioning point

size

margin dimensions and paper material and

weight

he emphasizes the importance of treating

the logo with the same respect

you wish your company to be looked upon

and you see rand finishing off

in the same elegant way he started these

booklets made the experience of

presenting logos completely different

for the receiver

it turned it into an interactive journey

you feel like you're unwrapping a gift

with your own hands

paul rand did this three four in

five decades ago and the way he presents

this information

is just as clean and relevant today as

it was decades ago this is what we talk

about when we say that design

should aim to be timeless of course

rand's influence in corporate design

isn't limited to

coming up with an ingenious logo he

pioneered all aspects of corporate

design

and often turned mandatory aspects of a

company's business

into opportunities to inject some design

genius

the best examples of this are the annual

reports all public companies are

required to publish every year the

content of

an annual report design content

but today the state of typography is in

pretty bad

shape rand saw this as an opportunity to

showcase the company's identity

and turn what is usually a dull document

into interesting read

rand also perfected the art of the

package he had profound ideas on how to

treat materials

shapes and graphics he thought the

designer shouldn't only aim to convince

the hand nor please the eye but to

however lightly

touch the emotions and gratify the human

spirit you can see that rand never took

any aspect of design lightly

and it shows in its brilliant packaging

designs for ibm and westinghouse

among others he transformed product

packages that are usually boring and

generic

and turn them into beautiful pieces of

design and a worthy extension of the

company's identity

right in the customer's hands if you

think that's the extent of rand's

talents

you better think again rand was also an

amazing painter having worked on over a

hundred book covers

and even a movie poster paul together

with his first wife anne

published four children's books and did

the writing and paul the drawings

they also designed their home in

connecticut in 1953

a modern masterpiece that minimizes

friction with its surroundings

the rand house received many accolades

and was considered one of the 10 best

houses of 1953

by interiors magazine had enough i

didn't think so either

ren also has four main brilliant books

on design that give us

a glimpse into his mind and don't get me

started on his posters

throughout rand's career he produced

timeless posters that still resonate

with graphic designers to this day

just look at these oh and this brilliant

poster for ibm which is one of steve

jobs favorite pieces of work by paul

rand this poster has a funny story

as ibm didn't really want to adopt it in

their identity at first

and only did so over the years to extend

where today

if you go to ibm's website in their

favicon

which is the tiny picture next to the

website name in the browser tab

they're using the b how cool is that

paul's work has been a beacon of

inspiration for many great designers

past and present his style and teachings

have been referenced and talked about by

the likes of lou danziger

whose rand's book thoughts on design

helped him clarify many design issues on

his mind

and emmy award-winning title designer

kyle cooper

who actually studied under ram rand's

mark and influence can be seen in many

creatives work

and of course the list goes on and on

and after more than six decades of

design genius at the age of 82

paul passed away in 1996 in his last

year ren gave us four logos

and published his last book from lascaux

to brooklyn

paul ryan who steve jobs describes as

having a slightly tough exterior

but a teddy bear on the inside truly is

the complete artist

he was self-taught left a mark on the

editorial stage from a very young age

conquered the advertising world and

simply pioneered corporate design

he painted taught wrote books and most

importantly

he inspired his work had the power to

change

industries outlive media and endure for

decades as if it were created only

yesterday

he believed that it's a designer's job

to improve the general quality of

life in fact he called it the only

reason for our existence

these are the marks of a legendary

designer and it is why

so many designers look up to him and

consider him the most famous graphic

designer of all time

i hope this journey through mr rand's

career inspired you to go

out there and look him up get to know

his work better

you can find everything we showed and

talked about in this video and much much

more

online i encourage you to study the work

and life of the design greats like paul

rand

who set the foundations for contemporary

art and design

that we all take for granted today

that's it for me in this video

i will see you in the future happy

birthday mr rand