Things I learned from Paul Rand: 14 – Quotes
Paul Rand, who also was professor emeritus of graphic design at The Yale School of Art, is known as one of the top authority on the subject. His design philosophies and writings are often quoted, when discussing the art and/or business sides of design. I am also a big fan of many of his wise sayings. I find them inspiring and often encouraging for those who work in the subjective and complicated field of design.
Here, I would like to highlight some of my personal favorite famous and some not-so-famous Paul Rand quotes.
On Design and Art
This was one of his favorite sayings by the time I knew him. After years of working in the field, meeting many of the best talents and minds in the world, and reading the most sophisticated books ever printed, he was very proud of his conclusion and discovery. In graphic design, he felt like people achieved art when a designer was able to find the perfect solution to a problem. Whether it was a logo, a poster, or a magazine cover, he was always looking for that perfect way to execute an idea. He also expected other designers to do the same.
Paul often complained that too many professionals and students just went straight to the computer, when handed an assignment. He thought it was largely a waste of time when people thoughtlessly went through the design process. “You move something over here. You move something over there. But you’re really going nowhere.”
Even with purely visual assignments, he believed you need to have a strong visual idea before going in. Research, inspiration, sketches – all these things mattered.
I’m not sure if Paul was the first person to ever say this, but this was something he always preached. He was a master at focusing on a strong idea, and using that as the hero of a clear and impactful design. Below these designs would have been ruined if the designer wanted to squeeze in more ideas. Choose your star.
The other way I have heard him say something similar to his students (including me) was:
This was a great advice, something I think about all the time.
On Creativity
Paul insisted he never tried to be creative for creativity sake. He was always trying to solve problems. I’m under the impression he also believed that there wasn’t any problem that didn’t have a perfect solution. It was the designer’s job to find that solution. Perhaps, creativity was more of a byproduct in the design process. Something that happened naturally.
On Complaints
I want to remind people Paul Rand was born in Brooklyn in 1914. Many of his expressions were quite antiquated, so different from the slangs I picked up in late 80s and early 90s, that some of them stuck with me. Including this one he used a lot when he thought something was useless:
He was also in his late 70s and early 80s during the time I knew him. His hearing wasn’t great, and he wasn’t whispering at all when he thought he was whispering. This is something we all overheard him say when he came to visit our art school (not to be named in this context) to give a talk one time:
He didn’t think highly of most design schools. I think he thought most of these institutions were “blind leading the blind,” meaning they were taught by people who didn’t know what they were teaching. But this quote didn’t go over too favorably when our parents were paying big dollars for us to go to these schools. Although very memorable.
I can’t remember what exactly we were talking about. I think it might have been David Carson’s magazine layout, but I’m not sure. Regardless, Paul didn’t like the design at all, and he asked me what I thought of it. I answered, “Well, at least it stands out.” To which he replied back:
I remember I couldn’t stop laughing at this.
On Ladies
Again, I need to preface this section that Paul was very very old. He worked on Madison Avenue from way before the time of Madmen, when the idea of “political correctness” maybe didn’t even exist. I myself grew up with an older father (he was 50 years older than me), and I never took his antics personally. But they were so incorrect that they were amazing, even back then.
So this last section is not for everybody. But here we go:
It was even accepted by his wife, Marion, that Paul loved the ladies, especially the blondes. (“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”) If I remember correctly, I think the representative from Yale University was visiting his studio one day, and when she left, this was what he said to me immediately.
Speaking of the ladies, Paul was concerned I didn’t seem to be dating anyone at the time, and teased me about it quite regularly. His favorite question to me was:
This question was almost always followed up with a loud “Oh Paul !!!” from his wife, who was embarrassed about Paul’s offensiveness. She was about ten years younger than Paul, and tried to tell Paul how incorrect that expression was. But it’s a little bit hard to explain, but I felt like he was trying to bond with a guy talk more than anything, and I wasn’t going to try to retrain an old dog. Paul Rand probably was like the only and the last person who could say this and not offend me.
I am married to an Asian woman, by the way. I sometimes wonder if he would’ve found it amusing.