The design and the play article by Paul Rand discusses many different ways to teach, practice, and learn the fundamental principals of design. It mentions that it’s not always a good idea to have total freedom and no rules. For example: how students should be taught rules and given guidelines for how to design, rather than allowing them to rely on their natural talent and imagination. In contrast to this he also states that no matter how hard a student studies, “a students unltimate success will depend largely on his natural talents.” This was confusing to because because in a way he is contradicting himself, but it also makes you think that guidelines set a criteria of what is expected and then the designing aspect of the task is left up to the natural talent you have inside you to come up with your own ideas. This just demonstrates how guidelines provide direction, but still have grey areas that allow students to fill in with their own talents. The play-principle serves as a base for serious problem-solving. For example in Josef Albers paintings he uses the same strict geometric pattern to challenge himself with the use of colors. It is used to trick your eye because without color the painting is ment to give a three-dimensional image with depth, but with using a variation of colors it displays a two-dimensional image to the eye. Overall, the article discusses the power of restrictions in design, while testing an artists natural talent and ability to challenge themselves.

In the article Design and the Play Instinct by Paul Rand, he describes how ultimately a students natural talent is what will ultimately make them successful. Two problems exist with this according to Rand, the first is if you give students too much freedom with there work there final work will be meaningless without any structure whereas if the student is instructed with to much direction they’re creativity is restricted and thus the end result is a meaningless solution. Rand explains that teaching should be mutual between the student and the instructor. Alfred North Whitehead explains, “The pupils, have got to be made to feel they are are studying something, and are not merely executing intellectual minutes.”

My thoughts on the reading “ Design and the Play Instinct” by Paul Rand is design has to come from a source. I think in design there has to be some sort of structure. Designers will always go with some fancy over-the-top design over something simple, they just want to show off their “skills” within design. Rules and structure help build an organized and knowledgeable designer. As artists we always start off with other artists teaching us. No matter how much a teacher tries everything they say rubs off onto the student, the rules help both the teacher and student stay on common ground and have no biased within what looks nice vs. “test of skill”. There are many examples of this throughout history. “De Stijil encouraged functional use of material and meaningful form.” This reading talks about a very controversial topic, and was very helpful with my thoughts on design. Rand describes some different basics, such as composition, placement, color, and contrast. The importance of geometrics helped a lot with my thought about the need for a layout. Throughout this reading Rand enforces the importance of simpleness, and teaches disciplines involving good design. Through structure and form, there is a base line to work off of or completely go the other direction from.

“The design and the play” article by Paul Rand discussed the multiple ways to teach, learn and practice the fundamental principles of quality design. It mentions that having all artistic freedom and no constraints is not always a good thing. In teaching design you must set guidelines, introduce a problem and invite play to find solutions. The guidelines provide direction to a lesson in design a way to learn a fundamental. Play is involved to keep ideas fresh, keep the student or problem solver interested and finally to find solutions using imagination and individuality. For example in Josef Albers paintings he used a strict geometric rubric to challenge his use of colors to eventually create a 2 demnsional image. He accomplished this by playing with the interaction of colors. This strict limited format challenges the artist to make a 3 dimensional pattern transform into a 2 dimensional image teaching the power of color theory amongst other principles. This reading also touches on the point that if there is no challenge there is no fun. There needs to be obstacles in artistic advancement, you’ll never become a gifted designer without challenging yourself to design more complex projects. Overall the article discusses the power of restrictions in design. Complex design problems can be overcome with playful solutions.

In the article by Paul Rand, he discusses how artist’s cannot just rely on their natural talent and instead he believes there needs to be rules and guidelines in order for the artist to reach there full potential. ” Without the basic rules or disciplines, however, there is no motivation, test of skill, or ultimate reward- in short, no game” (156). I agree with Rand’s thoughts because its true, if your gifted with an artistic talent and never improve your skills, how can you become a better artist? This article connects to me because as an artist with not that much skill, I enjoy getting assignments that have rules to them because it makes me really have to work to figure out what my final piece will look like. I do enjoy branching out and thinking outside the box, but as Rand said before how you cannot reach your goals without knowing the basic rules, its basically like cheating the system and as an artist I am dedicated to learn from the beginning.

The best way for me to approach constraints in a project is to initially think about them in regards to music. Oftentimes, in jazz songs, there are large solos for one or multiple instruments. These solos may or may not change keys, but while one is playing certain bars, they must stay in the designated key or else the solo sounds horrible, in most cases. But with eight notes, multiple octaves, and any number of rhythmic variations, an instrumentalist can easily work within the parameters, the only confines being what he or she knows or is willing to improvise upon. Occasionally, playing an odd note is good, because although it may initially sound off, it might fit better in the large scale.
For this reason, I think parameters and constraints are often good, because it gives me obstacles to overcome and a way to challenge myself creatively in order to solve a problem. It also allows me to come at a problem from multiple angles and create multiple solutions that work. There is no one answer to anything (except maybe a math problem), and as a result I think each person has to choose what works best as a design or solution, as well as what works best for them or their client.

An idea that I like from the reading is the one regarding the grid. Typically seen as squares, the ideas from The Modulor and the Japanese floor plans offer other options in place of a square grid. Instead, they propose an infinite option of grids and layouts for creative or utilitarian purposes. With all of the other factors placed into the equation, the grid can easily evolve to take a new layout that still allows someone to work within the space. The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio are also two pleasing mathematical sequences that allow a designer to view different possibilities based upon the numbers and proportions.

The saying “All work and no play”, although not actually mentioned in the text, is challenged here, particularly in the addition of paper cutout work such as Henri Matisse’s or Picasso’s painting. Paul Rand implies that there is an element of fun working with parameters that challenge a designer and a viewer without suffocating them or giving them too much freedom. This would allow them both “work and play.”

In the article by Paul Rand, he states that students need natural talent to design well.  I do think that some people can be taught to design with a meaning behind it, I’m not sure if I believe it is something that cannot be taught. “The results of such vagaries are sometimes pretty, but mostly meaningless…atmosphere of freedom, absent of certain disciplines  which would evoke ideas.” (157). The designs should not just be pretty to look at they also need to be efficient and have a meaning and make the viewer think. I agree with Rand on this because there is a time and place for everything, and when wanting to get a point across, the art has such a deeper meaning than if it just looks nice, anyone with or without natural talent can make a pretty piece of art, but not everyone can create appealing art that has a meaning. Having limits on work is definitely beneficial in the long run because it really pushes the designer to work harder and think outside of the box, for example when we have limited fonts to use in class.

The article by Paul Rand talks about how all students should be taught rules for designing, and not relying only on their natural talents. However, he mentions that no matter how hard you study, “a students ultimate success will depend largely on his natural talents…” I understand why he says this, but at the same time I believe that if you work hard, you will be rewarded later in life. One of the things that Rand mentions, is that when students aren’t taught these rules they become “handicapped by the absence of certain disciplines…” which I agree with. Graphic Design isn’t the hardest major out there, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t require dedication, talent, and a basic understanding of what looks good and what does not. He also talks about how “without rules or disciplines, the students will have no motivation, test of skill, or ultimate reward – in short, no game.” Unfortunately,  I think that this is where most of our generation is headed.

Response

Paul Rand, the author of “Design and the Play Instincts”, establishes the strains of being a teacher and how to keep a student captivated by his or her work. He later states his opinion on how a teacher can keep the students engaged. Paul Rand came up with the idea that  giving a lot of limitations to students will force them to think out of the box, more so than if he or she had the independence to do anything they desired. Rand states;

“I believe that if, in the statement of a problem, undue emphasis is placed on freedom and self expression, the result is apt to be an indifferent student and a meaningless solution. Conversely, a problem with defined limits, implied or stated disciplines which are, in turn, conducive to the instinct of play, will most likely yield and interested student and, a very often, a meaningful and novel solution”

The Chinese toy, The Tangram, is a little square that is divided into 7 different shapes: five triangles, one square, and one rhombus. The purpose of this games is to make any kind of figure or pattern. This game intrigued me the most due to its simplicity but mostly its hidden value. In order to be a graphic designer one needs to be able arrange different shapes and construct and image. Paul Rand makes it clear that having an eye for abstract is a very essential to design.

When critiquing a project it is clear whether or not time and thought was put into it. Rand believes that having meaning behind your work makes it more worthwhile. Meaningless work will never stand out or make a difference in the world. Everyone wants their art work to be remembered.

I agree with everything that Paul Rand stated. Without rules students would never put in that extra notion to make their work that much better.

i wish this was our first assignment that we had to do because it does a pretty job job of explaining exactly what it is that we are doing in our class. i agree with the fact that rules are important and learning the basics of anything really can bring you a long way. its not always about how creative someone can be, especially when that person cannot do simple things with the computer. The part about how its important to have a balance between theoretical and practical problems i think is a good thing to have, without it we would either never learn the basic of our craft and never get anywhere after four years, or stick to strict projects all the time and never learn exactly when to apply your own creativity. I think the whole part about how everything should be in a grid system is an interesting thought because when you think about it, it is absolutely true, books are mapped out the same way, flyers and ads have a central layout as well. I think after reading this i have a better understanding of simple assignments and understand why its a good thing to go over little things and learn how to pay such great attention to detail.