In a graphic design lecture last week, a BYU-Idaho professor shared an experience of meeting Paul Rand. Rand had come to the Art Center where this professor was studying graphic design to meet with an associate whom Rand was mentoring. When students gathered to meet Mr. Rand, the first question sputtered into the air and from what I gather, the conversation went something like this.
“Mr. Rand, what would you suggest designers do to come up with creative ideas?”
Disgustedly, Rand scoffed his reply, “This generation, always looking for an easy way out. I’m not even going to answer that.”
Just in case you didn’t already know, Paul Rand was an influential American Graphic Designer best known for his contribution to several company identities we still recognize because of logos and brand images created in part by Rand’s designs. Some of these companies included IBM, UPS, and ABC.
He is certainly someone worth looking into to gain additional history and insight into the process and life of Graphic Design. (You can start with his website at www.paul-rand.com/) No matter how grumpy he was that day at The Art Center.
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