Things I learned from Paul Rand: 12 – $100,000 logo Myth
Google search will tell you Paul Rand charged $100,000 for a logo design. I thought I wanted to straighten this out a bit.
Father of Corporate Design
Paul Rand is often attributed as the father of corporate design. His design program for IBM is well-chronicled in many places (including this very blog series). The ABC logo has been around for a long time. His UPS logo, although updated several times afterwards, is still recognizable. Westinghouse, Cummins, and Morningstar logos are still being used.
Being such an authority for the subject, many people often wonders, how much did those logos cost?
NeXT Computer
Paul Rand says it himself in this documented video, that he charged Steve Jobs $100,000 for the NeXT logo. Also, as you can see in the screenshot of Google search above, this is what they attribute this hundred-grand figure to.
I do think this was correct, but I also want to point out that this was in the mid-80s, almost 40 years ago.
Half Up Front
I must admit, I was definitely one of those curious people who always wondered how much his logos cost. So I asked him directly one day (during the 90s), and he gladly and proudly told me:
“A quarter-of-a-million dollar. Half up front into my Swiss bank account. If they cancel the project in the middle of the process, I keep the half.”
Got What He Deserved
Paul wasn’t afraid to demand what he thought and knew what he deserved. I’m under the impression he kept on raising his rate along with the inflation. I believe, if he was around today, he would be charging half-a-million, or more. Just for the logo and the logo presentation, mind you.
Is that too much? He definitely did not think so. He believed and demonstrated that good design is good business.
