Sunday, 19 January 2014

ESSAY. 2 designers - 2 different eras.

David Carson and Paul Rand.




David Carson is one of the most influential figures in graphic design. He's iconic in the design industry, partly due to his use of grunge typography. A graphic designer and a surfer - a hobby which leaves great impact upon his works. He has designed from posters to commercials, having served clients ranging from Disney to Toyota.


He has influenced people to look at typography as an expressive medium. He has urged many young designers to break the norm and go against tradition and its origins. His works do not follow the basic rules a graphic designer should follow, and this is why his work got noticed and criticised in the 90's. Through his work he promotes the minimalist approach where less is more. He feels that a design is more effective if it is simple and to the point. His technique is to evaluate who his audience is, what the emotion and message is, which the client is trying to express. He works straight onto his computer as he feels that elements of your design are lost from the sketchbook to the computer. He thinks you should follow your gut and do what you feel is appropriate to make your design work, reason why he himself doesn't follow the basis of graphic design. One does not need to learn the rules in order to break them. He has thought designers that the type chosen should reflect the emotion you want to portray in your work.





Between 1995-1998 Carson did design work for many companies including Pepsi, Nike and Emporio Armani.


'Ray Gun was an American alternative rock-and-roll magazine, first published in 1992 in Santa Monica, California. Led by founding art director David Carson''









Paul Rand also left great influence and inspiration to graphic designers. He is known for integrating modern art into the corporate industry. It was his corporate logo designs which made him famous, those including the logo of IBM, UPS and Next. He was considered to be a master of modern design, applying to his work what he learnt through modernism. Paul Rand made use of minimal typography, using only the best designed serif and sans serif fonts. It was the way he approached colour, shapes and contrast that got his work noticed. His designs started a whole new trend for corporate America and his influence in designers works can still be seen today. In his designs you come across balance and harmony, form and function... a sense of clarity. These elements gave corporate identity and Logos a whole new perspective.

His use of collages, photography and unique use of fonts is what kept his viewers interested. Rands influence on graphic design is clearly visible through his time as he was not only a designer but also a professor at Pratt Institute and Yale. He also wrote books expressing his thoughts on design. It was his instinctive passion and beliefs which made him so influential. One could say that he set new standards for graphic design.


Three of the most influential logos ever designed by Paul Rand are that of UPS, IBM and Next. Their simplicity and minimalism made them very effective and made people know these companies by their famous trademarks.


























History Paper - Paul Rand. 2014. History Paper - Paul Rand. [ONLINE] Available at: http://public.csusm.edu/Zorne002/history_paper.html. [Accessed 19 January 2014].


Paul Rand - iconofgraphics.com. 2014. Paul Rand - iconofgraphics.com. [ONLINE] Available at: <http://www.iconofgraphics.com/Paul-Rand/.> [Accessed 19 January 2014].


Paul Rand Profile - Profile of Graphic Designer Paul Rand. 2014. Paul Rand Profile - Profile of Graphic Designer Paul Rand. [ONLINE] Available at: <http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/designerprofiles/a/paul_rand.htm.> [Accessed 19 January 2014].


An Interview with David Carson « Layers Magazine. 2014. An Interview with David Carson « Layers Magazine. [ONLINE] Available at: <http://layersmagazine.com/an-interview-with-david-carson.html.> [Accessed 19 January 2014].


Magazine Design Inspiration - MagSpreads: Interview - David Carson. 2014. Magazine Design Inspiration - MagSpreads: Interview - David Carson. [ONLINE] Available at: <http://www.magspreads.net/p/interview-david-carson.html.> [Accessed 19 January 2014].


David Carson - Techniques in Design - YouTube. 2014. David Carson - Techniques in Design - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1pQTuJfUi8.> [Accessed 19 January 2014].

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