1914-1996

Education: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn; Parsons School of Design, New York; Art Students League of New York

Selected honors: Medal of the AIGA; Society of Illustrators Gold Medal;
New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame; American Institute of Architects Honors Award; Gaudens Medal for Alumni Achievement, Cooper Union

Teaching: School of Visual Arts, New York

Paul Rand almost single-handedly changed the look and feel of American
graphic design. In the 1930s, he was among the first American designers to introduce into graphic design the formal vocabulary of the European avant-garde art movements. He brought what was then called New Typography, defined by strong, clean, unsentimental type treatments, to everything from print ads to book jackets. His design philosophy emphasized the importance of significant form, visual perception, and meaningful ideas.

Over the course of his long career, Mr. Rand created trailblazing ads, posters, and book designs, but he is perhaps best known for his logos. His designs for such clients as IBM, ABC, and UPS have become icons of American commerce. The vast array of his innovative commercial art was characterized by wit, simplicity, and the use of color and white space as uncluttered framing devices.

Mr. Rand was art director of Esquire/Apparel Arts from 1937 to 1943. He subsequently spent thirteen years as creative director of a New York advertising agency before opening his own consultancy in 1956. Paul Rand’s work is in the permanent collections of museums worldwide.