Eliot Noyes, Paul Rand, and the Beginnings of the IBM Design Program
Eliot Noyes, Paul Rand, and the Beginnings of the IBM Design Program
This chapter discusses the beginning of Eliot Noyes’ association with IBM. It initially presents a background of Noyes’ architectural work, noting his compound methods to design—a combination of traditional techniques and high modernism. Noyes was strongly influenced by Peter Behrens, a prominent member of Werkbund and pioneer of corporate design. Behrens’ ideologies were passed on to Noyes through his professor, Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus school and proponent of modern and industrial design. The chapter then discusses Noyes’ conception of “organic design”, which can be interpreted as the link between the characteristic of being organic and the harmonious organization of different parts. It also recounts Noyes’ and eventually Paul Rand’s involvement in the reinvention of the IBM graphics.
Keywords: Eliot Noyes, Peter Behrens, Werkbund, corporate design, Walter Gropius, Bauhaus school, industrial design, organic design, Paul Rand
Minnesota Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
