Portrait of Paul Rand by the Author

Pixel Pusher vs. Problem Solver

The Designer’s Problem According to Paul Rand

Pioneering designer Paul Rand, has written many words about commercial art and design. He is certainly one of the most influential thinkers on the topic in my own life. His writing, though formulated many decades ago, has a way of ringing true and relevant today. His ideas have survived the sweeping technological changes since his time, going back as far as the 1940s.

One of my favourite Rand essays is called The Designer’s Problem, where he manages to describe the essential task of the designer (or commercial artist, more broadly), while pinpointing a key pitfall many designers, myself included, fall into.

“An erroneous conception of the graphic designer’s function is to imagine that in order to produce a ‘good layout’ all he need do is make a pleasing arrangement of miscellaneous elements. What is implied is that this may be accomplished simply by pushing these elements around, until something happens. At best, this procedure involves the time-consuming uncertainties of trial and error, and at worst, an indifference to plan, order, or discipline.

“The designer does not, as a rule, begin with some preconceived idea. Rather, the idea is (or should be) the result of careful study and observation, and the design a product of that idea.”