Paul Rand was one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th century. His valued contribution to the design medium is remarkable and acknowledged by clients and critics alike. His work received recognition in his early twenties due to his groundbreaking innovation in design, typography and graphic design.

However, it was the area of corporate identity design during the mid of his design career, that he shot to worldwide fame. He is regarded as the one who has actually set standards for the creation of corporate logos, and that too, by devising the pre-requisites of modernity, simplicity and ease of recognition. Many of these logos or their basic designs are still in use.

INNOVATION:

Paul Rand was a prominent advocate of employing a wide variety of techniques such as typography, painting, collage, photography, and montage – creating a combination of elements to produce a distinctive and modern visual image, whether it was a poster, a magazine cover design or a corporate identity design/logo.

1. Typography:

Paul Rand’s distinctive style was a result of his talent and extensive design education. It inspired his success at the merger of modern typography with nineteenth-century engravings. Rand strove to unite letters, finding unique graphic ways of bringing together letters of a word (name or title of a person or entity). And he excelled at that, as seen in his logos for IBM, EF and Yale University Press.

Typography was one of his strongest command areas, and with his impeccable understanding of both visual content (image/illustration) and technical content (typography/typeface), he produced designs which lasted decades. Balance, uniformity and equilibrium of spacing were the three common elements of Paul Rand’s typography related work.

2. Simplicity:

Simplicity was a common element of everything and anything Paul Rand created, whether it was a page design, a magazine cover, an ad, or a logo. And everyone loved it. He was always of the opinion that the design of a logo must be simple, in order to appeal aesthetically.

3. Rebellion:

In the 1940s, Paul Rand broke away from the conventional standards of typography and layout, and started incorporating Swiss style of design into his creations. He merged American visual culture into European avant-garde (modern art) design, integrating Cubism, Constructivism, the Bauhaus and De Stijl into his work.

Poster for the New York Subways Advertising Company, designed by Paul Rand in 1947.

Poster for the UCLA, designed by Paul Rand in 1996, one of the last creations before his death.

CORPORATE IDENTITY DESIGNS:

The most important achievement on Paul Rand’s portfolio is in the area of Corporate Identity Design and logotypes. His talent and excellent execution was apparent in the logos he designed for many firms from a broad range of industries like IBM, Apple, UPS, ABC Television, NeXT, Enron, the Cummins Engine Company, El Producto Cigar Company, Compton Advertising and Westinghouse Electric Corporation and many more.

IBM:

The image that virtually became Paul Rand’s identity was his corporate identity design/logo for IBM. Rand was selected to revamp the IBM logo by Thomas J. Watson, Jr., the president of the multinational giant in 1956. Paul’s concept of expanded typography within a contained format gave birth to a new corporate identity.

The IBM logo with the three letters in bold font was a design concept that gave birth to corporate and public awareness at the same time.

Paul Rand’s design of the IBM logo was modified in 1960, and the striped logo design was unveiled in 1972. Rand also designed packaging materials for IBM from the early 70s to the early 80s.

He also came up with a very eye catching poster design for IBM, with an eye in place of the letter ‘I’, and a bee in place of the letter ‘B’. The poster was used in-house for a conference/event.

ABC:

In 1961, Paul Rand designed a new logo for ABC (The American Broadcasting Company). Now used for over 40 years, it is the current “ABC Circle” corporate identity design, with a circle encompassing the three lowercase letters ‘abc’. The typeface/font used in the ABC logo is a simple geometric design inspired by the Bauhaus school of the 1920s.

In September 2007, a shimmer was added across the circle, giving the design a new look. The ‘abc’ logo is a clear example of simplicity in Paul Rand’s design creations. The use of black and white indicates the formality in his work.

UPS:

Another design that added stardom to Paul Rand’s corporate identity design portfolio was that of UPS, the United Parcel Service. Designed in 1961, the UPS logo displayed an iconic package and shield, in black and white. While the color scheme was again a sign of Rand’s simplicity theory in design, he also retained the shield believing that it had symbolic importance for the men who wore it.

The logo was modified in April 2003, retaining the letters ‘UPS’, with large font in it. However, the colors used are yellow and brown, with the same shield theme.

NeXT:

When Steve Jobs created NeXT, the new education computer company, he also realized and understood the purpose and power of a logo. This realization was made obvious by a payment of $100.000 for the corporate identity design/logo created by Paul Rand in 1986. Maybe, because of similar reasons, Steve Jobs once called Paul Rand, “the greatest living graphic designer.”

Others examples of Corporate Identity Designs by Paul Rand:

Paul Rand enjoyed a very long career, achieved fame at a surprisingly young age, and saw his principles adopted by whole generations of design professionals and students. He is no longer alive but still lives in his creations, and the identity he gave to corporations, institutions, entities and even ideas. Rest in Peace.

Share it / Bookmark it

 Like this article? Subscribe to the RSS feed!