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Thoughts on Paul Rand

acg.media.mit.edu

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Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#11

Post by matthewgifford »

carlio wrote: post #6
10dpd wrote: post #4

"At the time I was building a reputation for myself as being a gifted graphical user interface designer." 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 found it hard to read past the first paragraph after that sentence, to be honest.

You're seriously going to stop reading what someone has to say simply because he mentioned that he worked on building his reputation? Your loss.

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#12

Post by gb »

stevewillows wrote: post #9
10dpd wrote: post #4

"At the time I was building a reputation for myself as being a gifted graphical user interface designer." 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.

He's recognized more for his influence on tech and art rather than his name on a specific product. You might say that he was in the right place at the right time with the right interests. The line has a sense of arrogance. Although it is true, it might not need the mention.

I didn't read it is arrogance, he's contrasting the praise he was receiving at the time with his own opinion of Paul Rand's genuis.

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#13

Post by matthewgifford »

gb wrote: post #12
stevewillows wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's recognized more for his influence on tech and art rather than his name on a specific product. You might say that he was in the right place at the right time with the right interests. The line has a sense of arrogance. Although it is true, it might not need the mention.

I didn't read it is arrogance, he's contrasting the praise he was receiving at the time with his own opinion of Paul Rand's genuis.

I agree. If anything, it's poorly worded. I think he's just observing what others think about him. And maybe his intention to make himself be seen as gifted.

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#14

Post by stephth »

10dpd wrote: post #4

"At the time I was building a reputation for myself as being a gifted graphical user interface designer." 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.

This list is a good place to start: http://www.maedastudio.com/index.php

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.

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#17

Post by ThomPete »

10dpd wrote: post #4

"At the time I was building a reputation for myself as being a gifted graphical user interface designer." 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.

He has produced among others Casey Reas and Ben Fry who later went on to create Processing.

Maeda is an artist before he is an engineer so what he creates is more experiments using code.

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#18

Post by drostie »

One great story about Paul Rand:

    "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
I really enjoyed his uncompromising attitude, "I'm not going to attempt to solve the problem 4 times for you; you can consult 4 people who wholeheartedly attempt to solve the problem once." The idea that art is not something to be half-assed but something to be pursued, as the Tibetans might say, "one-pointedly", is a deep lesson which I myself resonate very strongly with.

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#19

Post by stevewillows »

gb wrote: post #12
stevewillows wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's recognized more for his influence on tech and art rather than his name on a specific product. You might say that he was in the right place at the right time with the right interests. The line has a sense of arrogance. Although it is true, it might not need the mention.

I didn't read it is arrogance, he's contrasting the praise he was receiving at the time with his own opinion of Paul Rand's genuis.

Yeah -- i see that arrogance is the wrong word. The contrast brings that to light. Thanks

Re: Thoughts on Paul Rand

#20

Post by chimi »

drostie wrote: post #18

One great story about Paul Rand: "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 h…

There can be problems with this approach, specifically, "The best way I know how" may not be the best way for the client. There are pros and cons with nearly every potential solution and it can be beneficial to discuss the pros and cons of more than one solution with the client before proceeding. It's arrogant to assume the best way you know how is the best way for the client.

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.

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