Design and Conquer » Modernism http://alvalyn.com/design-and-conquer Verbal sketches and visual notes by Alvalyn Lundgren Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:47:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Paul Rand and Coldplay http://alvalyn.com/design-and-conquer/paul-rand-and-coldplay/ http://alvalyn.com/design-and-conquer/paul-rand-and-coldplay/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:05:45 +0000 Alvalyn Lundgren http://alvalyn.com/design-and-conquer/?p=282

Coldplay’s web site created this year, bears a remarkable resemblance to a book cover design by Paul Rand a few decades ago. The comparison cannot be missed.

Compare the Coldplay web page screen capture:

Home page at www.coldplay.com

Home page at www.coldplay.com



to Paul Rand’s assertive design:
Cover Design by Paul Rand

Cover Design by Paul Rand

Comparing is to focus on what is similar. Contrasting is to focus on what is not. There are obvious similarities but enough differences to understand in these two designs to see that the web design is perhaps more than inspired but not a derivative or copy of the book cover. It is “in the style of”. Maybe it’s even a tip of the hat.

The web page lacks the contrast of precise, explicit edges against accidental edges, and is more “dirty” in sensibility. The book cover is an example of modernism looking forward, the web page is an example of postmodernism looking backward.

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