Paul Rand

“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.”
Paul Rand

Paul Rand, also known as Peretz Rosenbaum, was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 15, 1914. Against his parents’ will and his religion, Rand chose to study art. Throughout his education he attended Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, and the Art Students League. With a portfolio full of designs influenced by the German advertising style, Sachplakat, and Gustav Jensen, Rand landed his first job in media promotion and cover design. However, after several other career explorations, like corporate identification and a professor at Yale, Rand began working on the cover of Direction magazine. Soon, Rand was receiving national attention for his work. Rand’s career only heightened when we began his job at Esquire magazine in 1937. His editorial layouts and design covers of Apparel Arts quickly became features in the Art Directors Club. Amazingly, at just twenty-three, Rand became the art director for the fashion section of Esquire magazine.

Rand continued designing throughout his lifetime, setting standards that no one before him had. The philosophy that a logo “cannot survive unless it is designed with the utmost simplicity and restraint” allowed Rand to produce some the best and most memorable commercial icons of all time. Designs for Ford, UPS, and his most famous IBM, have marked his name in history.

Sources
http://www.paul-rand.com/biography.shtml
http://www.areaofdesign.com/americanicons/rand.htm
http://www.logodesignlove.com/all-about-paul-rand