List of Paul Rand Quotes

Artistic Tricks Divert From The Effect That An Artist Endeavors To Produce, And Even Excellent Elements Such As Bullets, Arrows, Brackets, Ornate Initials, Are At Best Superficial Ornamentation Unless Logically Employed.

Any System That Sees Aesthetics As Irrelevant, That Separates The Artist From His Product, That Fragments The Work Of The Individual, Or Creates By Committee, Or Makes Mincemeat Of The Creative Process Will, In The Long Run, Diminish Not Only The Product But The Maker As Well.

If I Was Influenced By Anything, It Was Architecture: Structure Having To Do With Logic. If You Don't Do It Right, The Whole Thing Is Going To Cave In. In A Certain Sense, You Can Carry That To Graphic Design. Fortunately, However, Nobody Is Going To Die If You Do It Wrong.

Graphic Design, Which Evokes The Symmetria Of Vituvius, The Dynamic Symmetry Of Hambidge, The Asymmetry Of Mondrian; Which Is A Good Gestalt, Generated By Intuition Or By Computer, By Invention Or By A System Of Coordinates, Is Not Good Design If It Does Not Communicate.

I Never Did Calligraphy... But Handwriting Is An Entirely Different Kind Of Thing. It's Part Of The Syndrome Of Modernism... It's Part Of That Asceticism.

The Reason I Always Insisted On Signing My Work Was Not To Be Subordinate To Anyone.

Asymmetric Balance Creates Greater Reader Interest. Pleasure Derived From Observing Asymmetrical Arrangements Lies Partly In Overcoming Resistances, Which, Consciously Or Not, The Spectator Adjusts In His Own Mind.

So That Is The Design Process Or The Creative Process. Start With A Problem, Forget The Problem, The Problem Reveals Itself Or The Solution Reveals Itself And Then You Reevaulate It. This Is What You Are Doing All The Time.

The Artist Is A Collector Of Things Imaginary Or Real. He Accumulates Things With The Same Enthusiasm That A Little Boy Stuffs His Pockets. The Scrap Heap And The Museum Are Embraced With Equal Curiosity. He Takes Snapshots, Makes Notes And Records Impressions On Tablecloths Or Newspapers, On Backs Of Envelopes Or Matchbooks. Why One Thing And Not Another Is Part Of The Mystery, But He Is Omnivorous.

Everything Is Design. Everything!

Art Is An Idea That Has Found Its Perfect Visual Expression. And Design Is The Vehicle By Which This Expression Is Made Possible. Art Is A Noun, And Design Is A Noun And Also A Verb. Art Is A Product And Design Is A Process. Design Is The Foundation Of All The Arts.

Providing, Meaning To A Mass Of Unrelated Needs, Ideas, Words And Pictures - It Is The Designer's Job To Select And Fit This Material Together And Make It Interesting.