Paul Rand

About

Paul Rand was a leading figure in twentieth-century graphic design. He helped revolutionize commercial art in America during the 1930s, advocating the functional yet beautiful designs envisioned by European modernists.

His work communicated a clear message to the viewer by combining recognizable symbols, text, and humor in an eye-catching way. He became the art director for Esquire magazine at the age of twenty-three, taught graphic design at Yale, and created logos for many major corporations, including IBM, the American Broadcasting Company, and UPS. Rand believed that good graphic design was equal to fine art. He felt that the designer, like the artist, creates a unique piece of work and its reproduction for commercial use is no different than the reproduction of an artwork for a catalogue or book.

Source: https://americanart.si.edu/