Design, Form, and Chaos

Design, Form, and Chaos

240 Pages , 7.50 x 10.00 in , 70 color + 55 b-w illus.

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“To have the preeminent graphic designer in America—the leading proponent of the Modern—intelligently and forcefully speak out makes this a document for today and the ages. Rand’s book is a classic.”—Stephen Heller (1993)

Paul Rand (1914–1996) was a pioneer in the field of advertising design and typography, and his work still exerts a profound influence on the design profession. First published to critical acclaim in 1993, and long unavailable, Design, Form, and Chaos is now back in print. Exploring graphic design challenges such as the values behind aesthetics, the role of intuition, selecting a typeface, and the place of market research, the book elegantly demonstrates how utility and beauty can be effectively combined. Illustrated with examples of Rand’s own remarkable graphic design, as well as with the work of artists he admired, the book features seven portfolios that he used to present logos to clients such as Next, IDEO, and IBM. Clearly one of the most important books in the history of 20th-century American design, Design, Form, and Chaos is a must have for any student or professional.

Paul Rand (1914–1996) was one of the luminaries of postwar American graphic design. He taught for more than 30 years at Yale University and was recognized for his iconic corporate logo designs, including those for IBM, ABC, and UPS.

“Paul Rand’s Design, Form, and Chaos is a classic. Not because he was a classic Modern graphic designer but because he could articulate in brief yet dynamic prose the idea that new and old—classic and modern—lived together in the same work.”—Steven Heller, author of Paul Rand

“Paul Rand was an advocate for simplicity, an evangelist for modernity, a theorist, a formalist, and perhaps most delightfully for the rest of us, a poet. A classic text that deserves to be read, and re-read, for years and years to come.”—Jessica Helfand, Yale University

“As a practitioner myself for sixty years in the graphic design profession, I can honestly say that I have never observed anyone who so successfully designed as Paul Rand, over and over again.”—Ivan Chermayeff

“Open this book and enter the confident, curmudgeonly mind of a legendary graphic designer. Rand lays bare his thought process with unsparing wit and precision.”—Ellen Lupton, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum