Logo Design Lesson#1:Paul Rand 10 Important Logo Commandments

Paul Rand, the American Art Director, and graphic designer has made some of the most famous logos for corporate America, including IBM, UPS, Enron, Morningstar, Inc., Westinghouse, ABC, and NeXT (Steve Jobs’ project).

The Logo Story Goes:

In 1961, Paul Rand did changes in UPS’s visual identity. Once he did changes with his designs, he walked into the UPS head office and presented them with (just) one design option. When the UPS people asked if he had anything else, he replied, That’s it.”

In 1993, Steve Jobs hired him to make a Logo Design for NeXT computers. Steve Jobs reportedly asked Paul if he wound up with a few options. And Paul replied,
“No, I will solve your problem for you and you will pay me. You don’t have to use the solution. If you want options, go talk to other people.”

FYI, Paul Rand, then 72, billed Steve Jobs $100,000 for the NeXT design.
The UPS logo remained unchanged until 2003.

Paul Rand’s 10 Most Important Logo Design Commandments:

The only mandate in logo design is that they are distinctive, memorable and clear.

The logo is an instrument of pride and should be shown at its best. If in the business of communications, “Image is King”, the essence of this image, the logo, is the jewel in its crown.

It can be a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign.

A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies.

It is rarely a description of a business.

Moreover, it derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around.

It’s less important than the product it signifies what it represents is more important than what it looks like.

The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.

The Principal role of a Logo is to Identify, and simplicity is its means.

‘A logo Design that is ‘complex, fussy, or obscure harbors a self-destructive mechanism’. No amount of literal illustration will do what most people imagine it will do. This will only make identification more difficult and the “Message” more obscure.’

‘A logo, primarily, says who, not what, and that is its function.’

For Logo Designers NetMaxims

The act of presenting a design to a client is very important. For every logo design, a logo designer must tell a unique story that is tailored to the client.

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