American Graphic Design

    Paul Rand was another of those American designers that set new standards in the field of American graphic design. He published his book "Thoughts on Design" in 1946, and yes, I remember reading every word of it carefully.

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      ranzinza, pfarndt, Yaronimus Maximus, fhjr2002, and 43 other people added this photo to their favorites.

    2. litherland (68 months ago | reply)

      You must have been a student then, no?

      If I may ask: where did you study, what was your program of study called, and what was the curriculum like? For example, how much time was spent on type/typography?

      What were a few of the most important design books from your formative years?

      What, in your opinion, are a few of the most important design books from the past ten years?

      Today we confront a wealth of design books. When I think of the books that are truly important in terms of practice, Edward Tufte's work comes to mind. Alas it seems that so many current design books focus on "how to be a rockstar designer" or, more loosely, individual process.

    3. Alki1 (68 months ago | reply)

      Lilitherland, now that's a weighty question. But I'll try to answer in a few lines. I started out taking Saturday art classes when I was a child at the local Portland Oregon museum school of fine art. When I was in high school I majored in art and took weekly life drawing classes at the same art school when I was not working for the Red Cross during those hectic war years. I then went on scholarship for three years of more fine arts training at the same school. I also studied "advertising art" from a local advertising artist who introduced his students to such names as Paul Rand and Bradbury Thompson. I studied calligraphy for many years with Lloyd Reynolds, nationally known calligraphy teacher. And just plain earning a living at the drawing board. I also met with a group of young start-up graphic designers one night a week after work, to study the latest issue of Neue Grafik and create design projects that we then would critique. And finally, I married a graphic designer/type designer.

      There was no such name as graphic design for a major in schools outside of New York. Classes that were taught were called Advertising Art and were usually disdained by all fine arts faculty and administration (until they needed a classy design for an upcoming show of their work). What was taught in the various colleges by mediocre faculty was a far cry from the professional world of graphic design.

      I am trying to remember the books that really influenced me. Jan Tschichold"s "Asymmetric Typography" and his "Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering" anything written by Bauhaus faculty (except Itten, whose ideas were silly nonsense) "Documents in the Visual Arts Volume 1: Piet Zwart" and anything by and about any of the DeStijl, Constructivist, DaDa and Suprematism movement participants. Malevich, Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitzky and Theo van Doesburg in particular. "Neue Grafik" was the turning point to the future, that future suddenly being called graphic design or information design, but no longer advertising art.

      I would say that ALL graphic designers should read "A Designer's Art" by Paul Rand, Yale University Press ISB 0-300-0348-0 as well as his "Thoughts On Design". Any of the 18 issues of the original Neue Grafik or New Graphic Design publication out of Switzerland from 1958 to 1965 and edited by Richard Lohse, J. Müller-Brockman, Hans Neuburg and Carlo Vivarelli. ANYTHING that was written about design by those four editors and other Swiss graphic designers should be studied.

      Another very influential book was "The Trajan Inscription in Rome" by Catich. We poured over those plates and I made every student that I ever had study, study study and work from copies of them. Catish's calligraphy was stiff and stilted but did he ever open doors with his scholarly research and photographs of the classic lapidary Roman letterform. Another was "Printing Types Their History Forms & Use" by Updike. I'll probably remember more books around 2:00 am. I gave many of my art books to the Greys Harbor Community College library so I can't remember just what the names of all of them were.

      Important design books of the last 10 years? I couldn't answer that but I do know that most of them have their 15 minutes of fame and then pass off into oblivion. And that includes periodicals as well. It all seems a rehash of the past or a back-lash against the past. And I mean of the 1960's era when all of the really exciting things were happening. Graphic design is like sports. There are a few that make it to the point of being famous but there is never any mention of those who don't go on. Since part of my job as graphic design faculty was developing job sites, I made my students take a realistic view of just what was out there in terms of earning a living at being a graphic designer. It's a hard nosed competitive business. Ho--Just a few lines???

      PS I was also an avid art gallery prowler. I can still hear my young daughters whining "Do we have to go to another art gallery, we want to go to the Japanese tea garden, drink tea, and then go to Alcatraz. Mom, you're not listening to us MOM!"

    4. litherland (68 months ago | reply)

      MM, thank you so much for your interesting and generous response (and, again, thank you for sharing your knowledge and images in this venue).

      Another very influencial book was "The Trajan Inscription in Rome" by Catich.

      I'm sure you must know about this online resource.

      I would say that ALL graphic designers should read "A Designer's Art" by Paul Rand, Yale University Press ISB 0-300-0348-0 as well as his "Thoughts On Design".

      Agree.

      Any of the 18 issues of the original Neue Grafik or New Graphic Design publication out of Switzerland from 1958 to 1965 and edited by Richard Lohse, J. Müller-Brockman, Hans Neuburg and Carlo Vivarelli.

      This I don't know as well as I should.

      There are a few that make it to the point of being famous but there is never any mention of those who don't go on.

      But do you really believe that it's so either/or? I think that there is sort of a "silent majority," those of us struggling along in the trenches who don't necessarily seek any significant recognition. The joy/reward is in the work. Not everyone feels that way, but I know I do. Granted, recognition can lead to better and more interesting work. But it seems that increasingly people seek recognition as an end in itself, which strikes me as corrosive and as a bit of a dead end. And not necessarily a good thing for the profession.

    5. Alki1 (68 months ago | reply)

      I shouldn't have said "who don't go on". My phraseology was off. I should have said those of us who were anonymous working graphic designers (or working at anything related to graphic design) simply worked on through the years because that's what we loved and did, design for publication (while trying to earn a living at it too).

      Graphic design is problem solving and the problems are always in a state of change. And the same can be said about the methods for solving those problems but a graphic designer still must have a basic knowledge of graphic design history and the processes for producing finished work to truly be a professional graphic designer. Do you know by sight the differences between Helvetica and Univers? (And know the history of the two typefaces?) Because you may lose your job if you don't when an art director tells you to use Univers and you use Helvetica. I have seen it happen. There is more to graphic design than knowing Quark or InDesign.

      When I taught I had a printing press in my classroom to instill the sense of just what we were designing for. And the very first thing that I had the students do was to print their first project. They very quickly learned some important facts about graphic design.

    6. litherland (68 months ago | reply)

      Do you know by sight the differences between Helvetica and Univers?

      Me personally? Yes.

      When I taught I had a printing press in my classroom to instill the sense of just what we were designing for.

      I wish I could have been one of your students.

    7. Alki1 (68 months ago | reply)

      Now I had a good laugh over that. Thanks for the compIiment. I have had an enormous cross-section of students during the years that I taught. Under graduate, graduate, and then the community college system where about 99% of my students were Vietnam veterans. (Dear Lord, please give me a Vietnam veteran student who has seen it all and is from Brooklyn. He's tough, he's dead serious and he can spell!)

    8. litherland (68 months ago | reply)

      Oh, I meant to add (re: your helvetica vs. univers comment) that, about seven years ago, I was in a meeting with a very well-known and esteemed principal of a very well-known NY design agency who also happens to teach typography at a very well-known NY design school. I'm tempted to name him because I always found him to be such an arrogant, self-important jerk, but I'll refrain. A group of us were looking over some collateral for the firm I was then working for, and this very esteemed man kept referring to the Frutiger we were all looking at as Gill Sans. The first time it happened I kind of looked up, and then looked at the others, but no one seemed to notice anything. So I assumed it was just a slip. But then this oh-so-important and expensive man kept referring to Gill Sans. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. "But...but Mr. P," I said quietly, "it's Frutiger."

      He glanced at me with contempt, didn't miss a beat, and said: "Oh well, they're similar."

      I was stunned.

    9. Alki1 (68 months ago | reply)

      That was a very interesting story. How embarrassing to have that happen! (Of all things, mixing Gill Sans with Frutiger. I never was an Eric Gill fan.) My big battle seemed to center over Lydian by Warren Chappell. Every university publication department that I worked with seemed to have that ugly face in every weight and size possible and never could understand why I refused to use it. I came to hate Lydian with a passion.

      Yes, I know about that look of contempt from someone who thinks they know and they don't know at all but who are PAID to know.

      Univers and Bembo are the two that I have narrowed down to, along with my husband's display faces.

    10. litherland (68 months ago | reply)

      Yes, I know about that look of contempt from someone who thinks they know and they don't know at all but who are PAID to know.

      Yup, paid six figures to redesign our firm's identity. Go figure.

    11. Grain Edit.com (53 months ago | reply)

      Hi, I'm an admin for a group called PAUL RAND modern graphic design fan club, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

    12. studiosmith (50 months ago | reply)

      Alki1 and litherland.

      Your conversation has been extremely valuable to me, and I thank you for sharing it in this fashion. Just to add one small item to this already discussed topic, I too have been amazed throughout my 20 year career to date with a designer's desire to be known; to be famous. From my perspective, the work is the star.

      Thanks to you both.

    13. Alki1 (50 months ago | reply)

      You are welcome studiosmith. The work is always the star, whether it's the Trajan inscription chiseled out by some 20 year old Greek slave hanging from a rickety scaffold in the hot Rome sun or an anonymous monk working on the Book of Kells in an unheated scriptorium in the monastery of Iona, off the Scottish coast. We don't really know who designed Akzidenz Grotesque but look how it's used in the form of Helvetica today.

    14. n.macca [deleted] (49 months ago | reply)

      Great design!

      We would love you to join www.talicious.com, which is a website especially for talent people and has a design section. The site is used regularly by companies, scouts and agents to look for 'fresh talent'.

      Would also be great if you added your picture to our Flickr Group "The Talent Community (Talicious.com)"

      Looking forward to welcoming you on Talicious.com!

    15. For the Love.. (40 months ago | reply)

      Great work!! I like this.

      Hey why not come and join our Flickr group at the PNW


      http://pnworldwide.net

       

    16. For the Love.. (40 months ago | reply)

      intresting work!

    17. Curly Y (34 months ago | reply)

      like this...

    18. VizionThree [deleted] (33 months ago | reply)

      Did Paul Rand actually do the graphic for this?

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