Thoughts on Paul Rand
acg.media.mit.edu
acg.media.mit.edu
"He is one of the most professional people I've ever worked with, in
the sense that he thought through all of the formal relationship
between a client and a professional such as himself -- obviously very
deep thoughts about this -- and therefore he had very clear conclusions
about what the relationship meant to both parties and how it should be
conducted. For example: I asked him if he would come up with 'a few
options'. And he said 'No, I will solve your problem for you. And you
will pay me. And you don't have to use the solution -- if you want
options go talk to other people! -- but I'll solve your problem for you
the best way I know how, and you use it or not, that's up to you, you're
the client -- but you pay me.' And there was a clarity about the
relationship that was refreshing."
-- Steve Jobs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb8idEf-Iak
For example, if you only know Ruby and the client is a PHP shop and you implement a solution for them in Ruby anyway, that could cause more problems than it is worth in the long run.
That's not what he's saying. He's saying that he's going to try as hard as he can to come up with what he thinks is the best solution to the problem. It may not be the best, but it's the best he can come up with. It's better than someone who comes up with five options, then leaves it up to the client to make the wrong decision.
I just don't understand the aversion to expertise that's so common these days. Have some fucking pride in what you do well. And trust that other people know their shit, too.
This should be celebrated.
If the designer knows what she's doing, she just needs to know all the relevant factors.
I anticipate good reading ahead: http://www.paul-rand.com/foundation/thoughts/#articles
Also, the book "Paul Rand" by Stephen Heller is well worth reading.
www.amazon.com/Paul-Rand-Steven-Heller/dp/0714839949
What products has John Maeda designed that we can use or have used in the past?
Writing books is great, but its the practical application that really builds reputations.
I would rather not show you specific examples and risk generalizing his work, but I don't want to drown your interest under perhaps too many choices, so I suppose I would point to his different advertisement pieces for Shiseido (interactive and print) as an introduction. (Search for images with the terms John Maeda Shiseido and crawl your way in.)
If anyone is really interested in his work (and if you do UI-related work dare I say, you probably want to be), I'd recommend the book "Maeda @ Media", it's a great guide through his earlyish work and process.
The line has a sense of arrogance. Although it is true, it might not need the mention.
People sometimes look at his work and think it's very simplistic and/or retro. Part of the art is the process it took to get there.
Maeda is an artist before he is an engineer so what he creates is more experiments using code.
I guess to be a good designer you have to have this attitude, but in today's business, the sort of attitude where you're like "I'll show you a single logo, and you won't have other options" won't cut it.
Design is subjective and it will always be, so not giving your client many options is just plain stupid and will make you poor before you know it.
Notes to self:
In QA format, place the answers close to the questions they correspond to.
Be consistent in placing initials before dialog.