Paul Rand: His Work from 1946 to 1958

This book is, first of all, a careful and reasonably complete record of Paul Rand’s work up to 1958 (when he was just 44!), illustrated in over 150 plates including examples of his non-commercial easel painting. The breadth of this work is readily apparent in the examples, ranging from large-scale advertising campaigns to book jackets. Of almost equal interest is the fact that the book is a unique tribute to the universality of the work it displays, having been produced in its entirety in Japan, edited by Yusaku Kamekura (himself a distinguished designer) in close consultation with Rand. There are informal texts by Bernard Rudofsky, Giovanni Pintori, and Hans Schleger, as well as Yusaku Kamekura. The book offers a then-definitive selection of the work of a designer who has consistently refused to approach commercial art on any but the highest levels of the creative imagination, where wit and intelligence, combined with the completely inventive use of symbols, are transformed into a delight for the eye and the mind. It is no exaggeration to say (so says the jacket flap) that there is no one in the graphics field who could not learn from this book. Don’t believe that? Get it and find out for yourself.