Paul Rand (updated)

Paul Rand was one of the pioneers of the New York School, who's career began as a promotional and editorial designer for Apperel Arts, Esquare, Ken, Coronet, and the Glass Packer. Paul Rand's magazine cover designs broke with the traditions of American publication design. Rand was highly influenced by the works of Klee, Kandinsky and cubists. Rand had the ability to manipulate visual form such as shape, colour, space, line, value, and skillful analysis of communication content, reducing it to a symbolic essence with making it sterile of dull.Philip B. meggs. and Alston W. Purvis.eds., 2012. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Fifth Edition. Hoboken Canada: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.pg 390

One can notice that in Paul Rand's advertising designs he made use of the typeface Futura. It is alos noticeable that his designs were very simple but in the same time eye  catching more that any other advert. In my opinion his work was visually sharp and this is because they ways he played with contrast. Based on the research that i have done Rand brought intelligence to advertising and always communicated well so that the viewer will always know what the advert is about.

The sharp colours that Rand used for his designs were to attract the viewers attention he also enjoyed found objects and paper cutouts and also minimal typography and one can also notice that he liked to make use of Sans-Serif typefaces mixed with his own hand writing.

Rand's style often reflected entering puns of wordplay. Rand also liked to play with contrasts such as red against green, organic against geometric, cut or thorn edges against sharp forms, and textural patterns against white.

Rand understood the value of ordinary, universally understood signs and symbols as tools for translating ideas into visual communications. to engage the audience successfully and communicate memorably, he know that the designer needed to alter and juxtapose signs and symbols.Philip B. meggs. and Alston W. Purvis.eds., 2012. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Fifth Edition. Hoboken Canada: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.pg 391

The hand written Christmas tag on a crisp rectangle contrast sharply with the mechanical stencil lettering of the logo on a thorn-edge collage element. A christmas present wrapped with barbed wire was a grim reminder of of the spread of global war.

Philip B. meggs. and Alston W. Purvis.eds., 2012. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Fifth Edition. Hoboken Canada: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.pg 390

References

Philip B. meggs. and Alston W. Purvis.eds., 2012. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Fifth Edition. Hoboken Canada: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.