Having a surname like mine I spend my life spelling it down the phone; explaining that an apostrophe is not a comma or a hyphen and generally wishing, at times, that my name was Smith. I’ve been known to write it eye-and-sun as a way of helping people understand how to pronounce it.
Then, last week, it hit me. Taking Paul Rand’s iconic IBM poster as my inspiration I’ve done a rework. Although I’ve used the same font for the ampersand as Rand used for the ‘M’ of the IBM version (City Medium), I’m not entirely happy with it. I think the problem lies with the stripes. They cut through in some odd places but I wanted to keep it faithful to the eight stripes of the original. I’ve tried a number of different fonts but may have to resort to drawing my own. This will work for now, though.
I think I’m going to adopt this as the new family crest.
How can we create beautifully functioning, robust, intuitive user interfaces and engaging online experiences if creative are completely divorced from the rest of the process?
Just an observation and something that has cropped up more and more in various places. I’m stunned that ten plus years down the line into the life of digital agencies proper integration between teams is still a rarity.
Interaction design is driven by information and needs. Without this we (designers) are merely decorators.
I know I’m not shy of a Paul Rand quote on this blog, and I won’t hesitate here.
Image from the book “Paul Rand: Conversations with Students” available on Amazon.
[Note: This has nothing to do with my current place of employment. Thankfully, we have our discipline integration pretty nailed.]
Following up on my post about Paul Rand from a few days ago, check out this video of Steve Jobs commenting on his working relationship with Paul Rand in the early 90s when Rand did the Next computers logo.
So said Paul Rand. I could fill posts and posts in the blog with some of his sayings and quotes. All very insightful, many witty but all absolutely true. Most of all though he was, and still is, known for some of the most iconic design work produced in the 20th century. If anyone in the design industry was at the very top of their game it was Paul Rand.
From the IBM and NEXT computers logo to the now defunct identity for UPS. His work was that perfect fusion of form and content, something the web could do with a lot more.
Anyway, I’ve recently stumbled across a great Paul Rand resource. Paul-Rand.com is a catalogue of his work. I don’t believe it’s exhaustive but, as the about says, it’s ever expanding and looking for material. I could spend hours looking through his work and probably will over the comping weeks.
Seeing the site reminded me of a lovely little tribute video on YouTube.
This is the blog of London-based digital design consultant Simon I'Anson. I use design to articulate complexity in ways which ensure users encounter the best possible experience on the web.
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