Paul Rand

I admit that I am a little ashamed of myself for not knowing about Paul Rand until last year. He is an incredibly influential designer who remained relevant and productive from the beginning of his career. In the 60s he created some of the world's most recognizable logos, many of which are still in use today... If not in their original form, then in some variant of it. His design philosophy was one of elegant simplicity and bold color. His many treatises about design seem to have earned him a reputation as a grumpy old man who didn't like change... but I don't necessarily fault him for that. The staying power of his work is a testament to the effectiveness of his philosophies. His work is incredibly important to the profession of graphic design, especially in modern times when computers and fancy filters have taken over a lot of the common designer's sensibilities. He drives the point home that complicating your designs too much will ensure that the public forgets about them very quickly.

My favorite works of his are, of course, his children's book illustrations. He developed a simplistic style using paper cut-outs: bold blocks of color paired with loose but expressive lineart. In a way the illustrations show their age, due to the amount of similar work that can be found from the 50s on to as late as the 80s, but similar illustration methods can be found today.