1993 interview re: Paul Rand and Steve Jobs

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, [VIDEO] 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.

Reminds me another Steve Jobs conversation, about the NeXT logo: [VIDEO] He talks about Paul Rand, who refused to give Steve multiple options on the NeXT logo. He would do just one, it would be right, and Steve could take it or leave it. I admire the courage involved in saying "taste is more than subjective, it's right vs. wrong, and I choose to be right." That's a huge part of the power in Apple's branding.

I don't know him, so I can only go by what he wrote there. So all I see are two things he cites as accomplishments, yet with that, he is nearly guaranteeing a hit. I don't know of anyone -- writer, filmmaker, etc -- who'd base any sort of track record on just two outings. Hell, even Spielberg had a bomb when he was hot: 1941. Here is Steve Jobs on designer Paul Rand, who Jobs wooed from IBM to have him design the NeXT logo: [VIDEO] So ask yourself, would Steve Jobs think the guy who wrote this post was worth the money he was asking?

I think he gives Ive more power because of his experience with Paul Rand and the Nextstep logo. [VIDEO] In short Paul Rand tells Steve I will make you one design and I will solve your problem. Since then I believe he has given designers (Jon Ive in this case) their space to design whatever they want. Trust in the designer.