Eva Machauf | COMD 3501 OL26 | Fall 2020

How to design an enduring logo: Lessons from IBM and Paul Rand

the article on paul rand was quite interesting on the secrets behind IBMs famous logo that has helped the company be what it is today. the amount of detail and effort paul has invested into developing and rebranding the identity of IBM has had massive positive effects and the amount of work he has put in for about 10 years is immense tinkering with one logo for  10 years has definitely shown in its longevity. one of the most interesting things about paul rand to me is the fact of only coming up with one design and proving its the best solution to the client and why it would work by developing an entire book or deck to support his claims and really hit home to the client which I think is really brilliant in the design of using his status and experience to his advantage. and I someday hope I have the skill and knowledge as well as experience to do something as bold as that. another big takeaway from paul rand is his sheer playfulness when it came to designing and I totally agree design should be fun and entertaining to the extent in which some of my best work can happen when its fun and enjoyable wheres no longer work and more play. in which it is really shown in his work.

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2 Comments

  1. Jerry Neira

    I found it to be amazing too, how strong and solid Paul felt about creating the logos. I mean 10 years seems like a crazy amount of time but he put in a lot of effort and his logo along with the playful versions of the IBM logo

  2. Nicole Biggs

    It is really amazing how sure he is of his designs that all he had to provide was one design. What is great about Paul rand is that he always has visuals to show the clients when he designs the logos because I feel if he didn’t maybe the client would say no ,who knows. His rebus poster Eye-Bee-M so simple but so powerful while having a playfulness to it. I agree with you design should be fun because when it’s fun or exciting to do the work come out better.

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