Direction
Paul Rand“He favors Le Corbusier’s underlying
philosophy... his avoidance of ornament,
his dependence upon masses, proportions,
and inherencies for success in the solution
of a problem,” exclaimed the October–
November 1938 issue of PMmagazine of
Paul Rand ( 1914 – 1996 ), at twenty-four
years old the leading American proponent
of functional design. “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 and reasonably employed,”
Rand explained. But at that time these
graphic accoutrements were considered
soothing to most clients. So how did Rand
succeed in expressing himself, and
otherwise change conventional practice?
The answer can be found in a series of covers designed for Direction
magazine between 1939 and 1943.
Rand was reared in the commercial art bullpens of New York
and understood the needs of American commerce. He never intended
to be a radical, but from the outset of his career he had an instinctive
understanding of modern painting, a passion for popular art, and a flair for
wedding the two. He was harshly critical of the lack of quality in American
design practice, and believed that even the most common aspects of
everyday life could be enriched by an artist’s touch.
Although he was enthused by the new currents in art and design,
he refused to mimic or follow them blindly. Rand insisted that it was not
only wrong but also “uneconomical from the aesthetic point of view”
merely to borrow or separate from context without understanding the
factors that brought an original into being. He further gave credence to
Le Corbusier’s dictum that it is necessary to understand history, “and he
who understands history knows how to find continuity between that
which was, that which is, and that which will be.”PMconcurred: “Rand is66