9 used from $90.00

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Paul Rand: A Designer`s Art (Paperback)

~ Mr. Paul Rand (Author) "Visual communications of any kind, whether persuasive or informative, from billboards to birth announcements, should be seen as the embodiment of form and function: the..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Annual Report (more...)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

9 used from $90.00

Formats		Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Paperback Available from these sellers. Published August 31, 1988	Paperback, August 31, 1988	--	--	$74.00
Paperback Available from these sellers. Published September 11, 2000	Paperback, September 11, 2000	--	--	$90.00
	See # more paperbacks
	Show fewer paperbacks

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Elements of Color

by Johannes Itten

4.5 out of 5 stars (12) $36.85

Paul Rand

by Steven Heller

4.6 out of 5 stars (7) $29.70

Things I have learned in my life so far

by Stefan Sagmeister

4.6 out of 5 stars (44) $26.40

Paul Rand: Conversations with Students

by Michael Kroeger

4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $13.57

Sparkle and Spin: A Book About Words

by Ann Rand

3.7 out of 5 stars (6) $10.85

› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Paul Rand was one of the world's leading graphic designers. Here he describes his work with the same precision, economy and passion that he displays in his graphic designs, seeking to help us to understand the nature of his relationships with his clients, his audience and his art.

About the Author

Paul Rand was one of the world's leading graphic designers. Honored by prestigious awards from many professional and academic groups, he was the first recipient of the Florence Prize for Visual Communication in 1987. He is the author of many books, the most recent of which are Design, Form, and Chaos and From Lascaux to Brooklyn, both published by Yale University Press.

Product Details

Paperback: 253 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press (September 11, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0300082827
ISBN-13: 978-0300082821
Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #801,056 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Paul Rand Page

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Visual communications of any kind, whether persuasive or informative, from billboards to birth announcements, should be seen as the embodiment of form and function: the integration of the beautiful and the useful. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Annual Report, Cigar Company, Museum of Modern Art, French Laboratories, Lee Hats, Roger Fry, Cummins Engine Company, John Dewey, New American Typography, Drew Pearson, Dubonnet Corporation, Friendship Train, Harcourt Brace, The Chinese

New!
Concordance | Text Stats

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 18 books:

Art as Experience by John Dewey on page 3, page 142, and page 143
The Film Sense by Sergei Eisenstein on page 203, and page 205
The New Typography (Weimar & Now: German Cultural Criticism) by Jan Tschichold on page 182
On the Laws of Japanese Painting (Dover Books on Art, Aesthetics, Art History, Art Collections) by H. P. Bowie on page 203
The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr on page 235

See all 18 books this book cites

40 books cite this book:

By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Design by Ned Drew on 7 pages
All-American Ads of the 70s (All American Ads) by Jim Heimann on 4 pages
The Politics of the Artificial: Essays on Design and Design Studies by Victor Margolin on page 138, page 139, and page 174
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands by Alina Wheeler on page 106, page 118, and Back Matter
Tibor Kalman, Perverse Optimist by Peter Hall on page 54, page 59, and page 76

See all 40 books citing this book

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	38% buy Paul Rand 4.6 out of 5 stars (7) $29.70
	19% buy Paul Rand: Conversations with Students 4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $13.57
	18% buy Meggs' History of Graphic Design 4.5 out of 5 stars (50) $60.32
	14% buy Sparkle and Spin: A Book About Words 3.7 out of 5 stars (6) $10.85

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

graphic design(1)

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book: Designer's Delight, November 26, 2000

By	Michael Pinto "Anime Fan" (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off: Rand is one of the best graphic designers of all time. He designed some of the best logos of the 20th century (example: the IBM logo), and this book features some of his best work. Rand doesn't take himself too seriously, and this book has a touch of humor here and there. His genius is that he can pull off a liquor ad, kids book or corporate showcase. My favorite thing about the work is that it doesn't look dated, there is a timeless classic quality here. Rand designed this book himself and the quality shows, this book is a must for anyone who is a professional graphic designer. Sadly Mr. Rand is no longer with us, but we have his treasures in this book.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Designer's Inspiration, June 23, 2004

By	Richard Stoehr "Idle Rich" (Bremerton, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading Paul Rand's book "A Designer's Art" should be a source of inspiration for anyone who considers him- or herself a designer -- in any medium. At least, it was definitely an inspiration for me.

I didn't expect to get much out of it when I started it, frankly. Part of that feeling is attributable to the fact that I didn't know Rand's work as well as I should. I had heard the name, but did not know what he had done. As the book began, and I figured out that he is, in a large way, responsible for the corporate identity of some pretty big names (IBM, Westinghouse, and UPS among them), and is capable of working in multiple media, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, I found myself respecting him. As it continued and he showed himself to be not only a very creative designer, but also a thoughtful analyst and an excellent communicator, I found myself agreeing with most of what he had to say. As the book concluded, I found myself inspired in my own work by what he pointed out.

"A Designer's Art" is everything its title implies... it is about good design and it is about compelling art. The two, while not necessarily the same, are definitely fused together in many ways. Artistic disciplines and methods and trends affect design work to a large extent, while principles of good design can also be applied to the basic creative process one goes through when making a more purely artistic endeavour.

Particularly compelling in this regard was the chapter near the end of the book, about the benefits of the "play instinct" and how it applies to design. By discussing several games and ways of playing with visual relationships, such as tangrams, tatami (the arranging of floor mats), Le Corbusier's "Modulor," and the creation of Chinese characters, Rand discusses several games and how they can be used in the design process, either in the solution for a specific problem, or as tasks in and of themselves. These "games" help to teach the designer to look at visual presentations in a different way, to see tired concepts in a new light, and to use originality to think their way around a problem. Like directed play does for children, visual games help to discipline the mind to see through what is presented and into an original way of looking at the same thing. "The student learns to conceptualize, to associate, to make analogies," he says. "To see a sphere, for example, transformed into an orange, or a button into a letter, or a group of letters into a broad picture."

Also very interesting was his discussion of the color black, reclaiming it for new audiences and new purposes, and his thoughts on including a sense of humor or wit in your designs. His conclusion is where I really came to admire this book, though, as he relies on the words of one of his employers: "Good design at heart is simply honesty. It is an ingredient of character. Good design helps to form in any one part of the business an influence that affects all part of the business. It sustains character and honesty in every part of the business. Good design, therefore, is very good business indeed." It's a good thought to take away from this book, that a skilled designer's work is valued by those he or she works for, and a reminder of the burden that designers bear in their work.

Reading Rand's "A Designer's Art" was something like the experience I had when reading Stephen King's "On Writing." Both men are (or were, in Rand's case) masters of their respective craft, and both have had their effect on our culture and our way of life, each in their own unique way. More importantly, though, just as I was inspired to write as I was reading "On Writing," so too was I inspired to make something new and original as I put down "A Designer's Art." Both books inspired me to create. I can't think of any better motivation for reading them than that.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paul Rand: A Designer's Must Have, July 29, 2003

By	Joel Tarver (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The single greatest book on Graphic Design ever written. This is not a tutorial or a how to, but a why. Why things work, why they don't, and why it is important to know about its history. Learn the importance of this medium, its impact on industry, and its place in the arts.

"That graphic design is generally considered a minor art has more to do with posturing than it does with reality."
-Paul Rand

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 6 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great examples but lacking the depth I hoped for.
This book uses the teaching by example system giving illustrated examples of the author's past advertising design work. Read more

Published on September 23, 2004 by Shock Writer

5.0 out of 5 stars NON LIKE ANY OTHER
I don't want my competitors to read this. It gives me the edge in designing.

Published on January 8, 2003 by Roy A. Lopez

3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK
The book was extremely well written, but it was the content I was diappointed with. I expected more info on basic design techniques. It seemed more of a picture book.

Published on February 3, 2002

› See all 6 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
graphic design Getting An Agent To Represent Your Work, Anyone w/Experience with This?	0	7 days ago
graphic design Adobe Photoshop...Online class, or must I take it in class to learn?	3	8 days ago
graphic design How To Find Freelance Jobs In G. Design?	10	15 days ago
graphic design Selling Your Designs to Businesses	2	16 days ago
graphic design Software for graphic design	18	16 days ago
graphic design Interested in DTP publishing business	6	19 days ago
graphic design Adobe CS4 vs Jasc Paint Shop Pro - Differences?	6	19 days ago