"A Designer's Art", Paul Rand

(pg4) “The Designer’s Problem”

“To believe that a good layout is produced merely by making a pleasing arrangement of some visual miscellany (photos, type, illustrations) is an erroneous conception of the graphic designer’s function. What is implied is that a problem can be solved simply be pushing things around until something happens. This obviously involves the time-consuming uncertainties of trial and error.”

“The designer is confronted, primarily, with three classes of material: a) the given – produce, copy, slogan, logotype, format, media, production process; b) the formal – space, contrast, proportion, harmony, rhythm, repetition, line, mass, shape, colour, weight, volume, value, texture; c) the psychological – visual perception and optical illusion problems, the spectator’s instincts, intuitions, and emotions as well as the designer’s own needs.”

Pg(239)

“Graphic design which fufills aesthetic needs, complies with the laws of form and the exigencies of two dimensional space; which speak in semiotics, sans-serifs, and geometrics; which abstracts, transforms translates, rotates, dilates, repeats, mirrors, groups and regroups is not good design if it is irrelevant.

Graphic design which evokes the symmetria of Vitruvius, the dynamic symmetry of Hambidge, asymmetry of Mondrian; which is good gestalt, generated by intuition or by computer, by invention of by a system of coordinates is not good design if it does not communicate.”

By the argument of Paul Rand if a piece of design does not effectively communicate, or solve the presented problem – even if it is aesthetically appealing – as a commercial service it does meet the needs of the consumer or client and therefore is not good design.

The psychological theories of Arnheim and Ross pose an understanding of aesthetics within design, however do not provide a finite way of processing, translating and effectively communicating subject matter. Therefore their importance to contemporary design practice, as according to Rand, is in fact limited as they do not provide all the necessary elements of a design work. 

Rand, P. (1985) A Designer's Art. New Haven & London : Yale University Press