Throughout the entire history of graphic design communication I’ve always been drawn to Paul Rand’s clean, distilled solutions. My typography professor, Ronald Arnholm, at University of Georgia’s Graphic Design Program studied under Rand at Yale. Both of our series of works borrow brush strokes from our grand master of design.
— P A U L R A N D / P O R T F O L I O
While my primary reason in asking my parents for a computer was to play games, it’s my initial days playing around in Print Shop Deluxe that I clearly remember most. In 1985 Print Shop Deluxe and Ghostbusters were the most widely pirated software titles. When not playing pirated Commodore 64 games I’d peruse the dozens of font styles mesmerized by their various design cues. That was the moment that defined my future career pursuits in the graphic arts. I’d bet Paul Rand appreciated the simplified C64 logo as much as I did.
I’ve been obsessed with letterforms and ligatures since I was eleven. An afternoon I remember fondly was when Professor Arnholm commented on my own Vinson logo design. He mused “that will last a long time.” Rand could have designed it himself as my gentle Yin & Yang stenciled nature was quite apparent. Longevity dons a design immortal.
“I haven’t changed my mind about modernism from the first day I ever did it…. It means integrity; it means honesty; it means the absence of sentimentality and the absence of nostalgia; it means simplicity; it means clarity.”
— Lecture, A Paul Rand Retrospective, Cooper Union, Oct. 3, 1996