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Talking about Paul Rand, but think of Apple since 1997 as you read it:

His work, for me, is very emotional – and yet, when you study it, it’s very intellectual, for me.

And so, if you scratch the surface on any of his work you find out the depth of the intellectual problem solving that’s taken place. And yet when you first see it, it’s wonderfully emotional. And that’s a consistency that’s been throughout all of his work that I’ve seen.

Man, talk about being awesome and knowing it.

The problem, most people that convey that level of confidence are actually useless. It’s pretty cool to see someone be able to back it up though.

Gee, agree with Robert, you have to be Paul Rand to be able to say that.

Inspiring example of somebody who knows his stuff and knows how to deal with clients.

If I said that to my clients before we worked together, they would have run for the hills. If I said it now after I’ve proven myself, they’d thank me. Everyone needs some kind of security. I suppose if I sold a better message to a bigger pool of more diverse clients, the right ones would bite. It takes time and effort to reach that position.

Although the inner quote was said to Steve Jobs, it is actually a perfect summary of Apple’s attitude toward their customers. They are very upfront and clear with the customer that they are presenting you with their vision of the solution to your problem. If you don’t like it, don’t buy their solution. But if you pay them for their products, you are paying them for their vision of the solution to your problem.

Some people see this as a statement of everything that is right about Apple, and some people see it as a statement of everything that is wrong with Apple. If you are the latter, then Apple products are not the solution to your problem. Simple as that.

I’ve always loved this quote, and I have had to use the same reasoning with clients before. It’s not necessarily about having confidence in yourself; it’s about you and your client respecting your time and effort.

I rarely give client’s more than one choice. Am I the best designer around? Absolutely not. Could they get a better design from someone else? Most likely. But my past work communicates what I am capable of, and at that point in time, they are going to get the best solution I am capable of.

I don’t send them somewhere else if they want something different, but I want to make sure they first get what I think is best. If they want to mess it up, they are paying for the right to do it.

I like Paul Rand’s approach (I will give you a solution and you can agree to use it or not), better than Paula Scher’s view that designers get paid to get “a large, diverse group of people to agree.”

Paul Rand had been doing design since the 30s. I would guess that this confidence in his work is the result of continuous improvement over decades.

The interesting thing behind this quote is the way Paul Rand positions himself very clearly towards the client (Apple). In other words Paul Rand says something like: don’t expect me to do some trickery where you choose what you like most and get the job done. He warns the client about how he sees the position of the designer in a designer – client relationship. Not one of a servant, or subservient. Not someone acting as a mere facilitator on behalf of someone else’s needs, nor an attitude of self-expression, but a relationship based on mutual respect.

I dedicated a blog post a while ago about this quote: http://rienswagerman.blogspot.com/2008/01/design-as-service-designer-client.html

Also check “The Design Way”, a very academic but amazingly insight full book about design culture, describes ‘design as service’ as follows:

To be in service is to be pro-active. This means the designer cannot wait around for things to spontaneously happen, as wished for by the client. Clients may not fully know what is concretely desired in the beginning. They are only aware that something is pressing for expression. This expression of their desire may even be masked by feelings of discomfort (for those who lack a critical self-awareness). In this case, the designer must help bring to the surface a clearer articulation of a client’s desire as a positive, proactive impulse. This is not always easy to do, as there are often feelings of anxiety concerning the future, and fears of unknown contexts or situations in life. People in general, prefer what is known or predictable.