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Great Designers: Part 1

5:34 with Mat Helme

In this video we will take a look at some great designers of the past and present. This video includes; Charles & Ray Eames, Herb Lubalin and Paul Rand.

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    In this video, we'll take a look at some designers and how their work still impacts us to this very day.

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    Know that all of these mediums are a little bit different.

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    Whether it be architecture, print, or film,

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    simply pay attention to the solutions they've designed and created.

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    First up, we have Charles and Ray Eames.

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    Charles and Ray Eames' main focus was architecture and furniture.

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    They also ventured into industrial design and graphic design, fine arts and film, as well.

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    They were American designers in the early 1900s.

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    Charles and Ray Eames are so noteworthy in the design industry

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    because they were so impactful on modern America through so many mediums.

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    They were a team of husband and wife.

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    They worked vigorously side-by-side throughout their careers

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    to find the best possible solutions for any given task.

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    Here are a couple of their masterpieces.

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    The Eames house is a case-study house designed by both Charles and Ray.

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    They wanted to design a house that fit within its environment

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    and had the functional use of an office and home.

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    The house is constructed of glass and steel.

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    This home and work space is the epitome of the definition of design.

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    It was strategically designed to solve the task at hand—

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    create a home and office in one.

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    This is the first time an architectural design like this has ever been completed with such effectiveness.

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    The structure still stands to this day.

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    Their next project I'd like to talk about is the "Powers of Ten."

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    The Eames couple pioneered the zoom effect

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    we still see today in movies.

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    If you have ever seen a space view zooming into earth,

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    like Google Maps,

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    it was probably because of the film, "Powers of Ten."

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    The film was commissioned by IBM in 1977.

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    The idea was to explain how large the universe is;

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    then, zooming in by using the powers of 10 until we end up on a single proton—

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    a very effective representation of size from the universe all the way down to molecular structures.

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    The next Eames project, which their most known for, is the Eames lounge chair.

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    Charles and Ray designed many collections of furniture for Herman Miller.

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    They pioneered the process of chair making with their early work, using the molded plywood process,

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    as you can see here, in the Eames lounger and ottoman.

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    They also experimented and perfected the process of fiberglass and resin-molded chairs.

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    Charles Eames said it best, "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a specific purpose."

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    Our next designer is Herb Lubalin.

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    Herb Lubalin is an American graphic designer.

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    He was born in 1918.

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    Herb collaborated on 3 Ginzburg magazines—

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    the "Eros,""Fact," and "Avant Garde."

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    He was responsible for the beauty and aesthetics of these publications.

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    Most notably, Herb is responsible for an art deco type face called avant garde.

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    The work that Herb did is best described as meaning through type.

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    He emphasizes the message through beautiful type lockups and layouts.

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    Herb did not think of himself as a typographer

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    but more of a message designer by using characters or the master of typographics.

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    He changed our perception on typography through his exploration of typographics.

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    He gave type life and meaning.

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    He personified every phrase with a human emotion.

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    He created successful solutions and gave copy purpose.

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    Next up, one my favorites—Paul Rand.

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    Paul Rand is an American graphic designer.

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    Born in 1914, Paul Rand is best known for his corporate design work.

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    He has created brand identities for major corporations such as Apple, IBM, Enron, ABC, and UPS—to just name a few.

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    Rand began designing page layouts in the 1950s,

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    and in the 1960s, he single-handedly convinced corporate America

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    that great design is a valuable and must-have tool.

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    He's the one that substituted project pricing rather than hourly pricing.

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    He coined the word jewel, which we better know today as mark.

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    This is the iconic standalone symbol which encompasses a brand.

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    Rand's design theories were very simple and straight to the point.

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    Here's a couple quotes from Paul Rand.

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    "Don't try to be original, just try to be good."

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    "Design is the method of putting form and content together."

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    "Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition."

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    "Design can be art, design can be aesthetics."

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    "Design is so simple, that's why it's so complicated."

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    "Simplicity is not the goal, it's the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations."

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