Things I learned from Paul Rand: 10 – Design Preferences
August 15 was Paul Rand’s birthday. Here are some design elements I will always remember him by.
Particular
Paul Rand was a very particular person. He demanded aesthetic qualities in everything he surrounded himself with, whether they were furniture he lounged on, house he lived in, clothes he wore, car he drove, or utensils and dishware he ate with. He also had strong preferences when it came to the type of music he listened to, books he read, or food he ate. He was very specific about the art he collected, as well as the art he created. Then, he definitely had design style and elements he favored.
Fonts
Paul, at least near the end of his career, wasn’t big on exploring many font choices. Although with his last book, “From Lascaux to Brooklyn,” I do remember us trying several different options before settling. But even then, he seemed to have a clear idea in his head what style he was looking for. (Didone fonts for you type nerds.)
Here are some of the fonts he liked and used:
Colors
Paul also had a rather specific color palette he went to for most of his work. With some colors he was happy with the Pantone options. But with some, he preferred to use CMYK breakdowns. The color I remember him struggling with the most was the blue. He seemed to never be completely satisfied with neither what Pantone or CMYK could create. Nonetheless, here are some common colors we used when I worked for him:
