Aug24
Few logo design principles and thoughts
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Paul Rand, one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th century, alongside with Saul Bass and Milton Glaser, evokes in his book A Designer’s Art (1985), Cézanne‘s letter to Émile Bernard (Aix-en-Provence, April 15, 1890): “It treats nature with the help of the cylinder, sphere, cone, everything to bring it to an appropriate perspective, so that each part of an object or plan is directed to a central point.” He things that the statement is “perhaps, the most influential statement to affect the course of modern painting, not because of the blind grip, but because the reference to the cylinder, sphere and cone was taken out of context (see Theodore Reff, ‘Cézanne and Poussin‘ – 1960) and misinterpreted innocently: a simple lesson from the Renaissance perspective was constructed to mean that geometric simplicity will now play an important role in how we perceive modern painting.
Léger and Malevich‘s work, circa 1912, literally illustrates this error and shows how accidents are often the source of important discoveries.”
In addition to that, Rand highlights the fundamental role that simplicity plays in visual communication, beyond all 7 principles of logo design stated by him: distinctiveness, visibility, useability, memorability, universality, durability and timelessness.
Twitter, WWF or Apple logo are just a few examples of simplicity.
Of course, there are many famous logo designs, like these, in the business sector, but beyond them, Paul Rand concludes: „It is easier to remember a good designed image than one that is muddled. A well designed logo, in the end, is a reflection of the business it symbolizes. It connotes a thoughtful and purposeful enterprise and mirrors the quality of its products or services. It is good public relations – a harbinger of goodwill. It says ‘We care’.”
