Paul Rand Famous Corporate Logo

TABLE OF CONTENT

Who is Paul Rand.
Famous for his corporate logo designs.
About the "IBM" logo.
About the Westing House logo.
About the UPS logo.
About the ABC logo.
Reference lists.

Who is Paul Rand ?

Paul was born under the Jewish name of Peretz Rosenbaum on August 15, 1914 in Brooklyn, New York. His love for art started from a very young age such as painting signs for his father’s grocery store and signs for his school events, unfortunately father did not have an eye for any art. He had Paul attend Manhattan’s Harren High School for his education and had him take any other art classes he wanted at spare times. Paul Rand first job was a part-time position where he created stock images for a company that supplied graphics to many different newspapers and magazines. People says that is works never aged, some had called him the “greatest living graphic designer” and many had seen him as "an idealist and a realist using the language of the poet and the businessman. He thinks in terms of need and function. He is able to analyze his problems, but his fantasy is boundless.

Picture of Paul Rand.

Famous for his corporate logo designs

These are some of Paul Rand famous works beside his work he was quite a successful man himself.

About the "IBM" logo.

(Created in 1972)

The best known Rand’s project is IBM logo, in fact, this company is one of the most important in informatics area and while entering the electronic era, there was some questioning about the image this company presented to the public. Rand decided to clean the old logo (a globe atop a simple line of tip) using as brand only the three letters IBM.

The result was solid and balanced, in 1972, the logo was improved. The solid letters were replaced by horizontal stripes, suggesting speed and dynamism. The IBM logo so looks like it was made by machine, instead of by hand and moreover it’s like the thin parallel lines to protect the signature against counterfeiting. In this way logo is an image of expertise, innovation, service and trust, thereby reinforcing the strength of IBM in the industry. If observed closely, the striped logo generates a message of “Equality” with its color, the lower right parallel lines, highlights in the shape of an “equals” sign.

Rand also designed packaging and marketing materials for IBM among which there’s the “Eye-Bee-poster”. It is a easy rebus to discover the name of the industry. In place of the letter I there is a drawn eye that has a similar pronunciation. In place of the B there is a bee, for the same reason of I. The only letter that remains the same is the striped M, as a link to original logo, his structure and color. The background color (black) help to make all much more unitary and the drawn elements are stylized, easy to understand so to stimulate mind and curiosity of people reading it. Although Rand’s logos may be interpreted as simplistic, he was quick to point out that.

About the Westing House logo.

(Created in 1960)

The project that made Paul Rand really famous in Corporate Identify design is that for Westinghouse Electric, one of the most powerful corporations in the United States for electric products. The basis of their success was originally the sale of energy.

The Westinghouse logo as Rand redesigned it in 1960 is a great simplification and updating of the previous logo, which if you look at historical advertising is somewhat similar. Simplicity and immediacy are the basis of Rand’s design.

Logo is a W in a circle. A the top of the W there are three circle, in this way it is not only a letters but also in a symbol representing the energy currents. So changing a type Rand can represent both the first letter of Westinghouse and its products. It's absolutely brilliant in its simplicity and execution. As typeface is used the Westinghouse Gothic Book, a quite condensed sans-serif.

The kerning and letter-spacing is negative to make the letters closest. Its particular the ligature between S and T that is a unique

Direction feature of the Westinghouse logotype. And connecting two letters the result is more unified; moreover this contact is another link to electric energy.

About the UPS logo.

(Created in 1961)

In 1961 Paul Rand was called by UPS to remake the corporate identity thanks to his earlier great works. UPS is a package delivery company. His challenge, in this case, was to transform the out-of-date shield into a modern image.

 The old one was like Roman coats, old style. So he streamlined the contours, used a lower case letter and placed a simple drawing of a package on the top of the shield. He made the more simplified version of UPS logo. The bow-tied package above the familiar shield express the mission of the company: secure package delivery.

 The lines and overall shape create a composition that’s well-balanced and well proportioned. Another aspect is the color; he used only the brown, color that is the trademark of the company, without other shades, like in the other versions of the logo, so he made a good job balancing white spaces and the brown one. His UPS logo remained the same for 42 years, still 2003.

Another logo made in 1961 is that for ABC. The American Broadcasting Company is a leading American television network. So Paul Rand designed a new logo which was introduced in the fall of 1962, this is the current logo, now used for 50 years.

About the ABC logo.

(Created in 1962)

This logo is one of the most iconic and memorable logo designs ever created. The message is clear and beauty, moreover it conveys to the wide and diverse audience of the network. The logo consisted of a simple black circle with the lowercase letters “abc”. The use of negative space, and simplicity, combined in a circle, provided a clear and consistent message to the audience. The curves of the circle era stressed by the rounded type. This is a project clearly influenced by Bauhaus; for this logo, intended for media, is used the Bauhaus font family, with simple lines, using white on black. The result is elegant and really recognizable.

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