Everything is Design

The Work of Paul Rand

February 25 - October 13, 2015

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"Everything is Design. Everything!"
—Paul Rand

Everything Is Design: The Work of Paul Rand features more than 150 advertisements, posters, corporate brochures, and books by this master of American design. It was Rand who most creatively brought European avant-garde art movements such as Cubism and Constructivism to graphic design in the United States. His philosophy, as expressed in his work and writings, including the recently republished 1947 Thoughts on Design, argued that visual language should integrate form and function. Born in Brooklyn in humble circumstances, Rand (1914-1996) launched his career in the 1930s with magazine cover design and, starting in the early 1940s, he worked as an art director on Madison Avenue, where he helped revolutionize the advertising profession. He later served as design consultant to leading corporations like IBM, ABC, UPS, and Steve Jobs's NeXT, for whom he conceived comprehensive visual communications systems, ranging from packaging to building signage, all grounded in recognizable logos, many of which are still in use today. Rand’s influence was extended by students he taught at Yale University. His visually stimulating, yet problem-solving, approach to graphic design attracted devoted admirers during his own lifetime and he remains influential today.

PRESS

  • "Paul Rand, the Visionary Who Showed Us that Design Matters," Wired
  • "Review of 'Everything Is Design: The Work of Paul Rand' at the Museum of the City of New York," The Wall Street Journal
  • "Everything Is Design: The Work of Paul Rand," NBC New York
  • "Review: ‘Everything Is Design’ Showcases Paul Rand, Master of Brand Identity," New York Times
  • "The Designer Who Humanized Corporate Design," The Atlantic
  • Museum of the City of New York Celebrates Paul Rand," amNewYork
  • "Everything is Design: The Work of Paul Rand at the Museum of the City of New York," Untapped Cities
  • "Paul Rand's Work Exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York," Architect Magazine
  • "How Paul Rand Pioneered The Era Of Design-Led Business," Co.Design
  • "'Everything is Design: The Work of Paul Rand' on view at the Museum of the City of New York," Art Daily

Read the press release. 

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