Accession Number
2016/2.216

Title
UCLA Summer Sessions

Artist(s)
Paul Rand

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1993

Medium & Support
offset lithograph on paper

Dimensions
36 in x 24 in (91.44 cm x 60.96 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo and Maria Phillips

Subject matter
Paul Rand claimed the reason for his fruitful association as a designer for University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was because, “I do the job, and they accept it.” Like many of Rand’s other designs for UCLA, the focus of the poster is less on figurative imagery but rather on the aesthetic qualities of the text. The key information for this poster is situated within the alphabet. It is a clever visual trick, but it also links the message to education. The alphabet is symbolic of the early stages of learning, so the viewer connects the summer sessions with a simpler, and perhaps more positive stage of learning. Rand cleverly uses the letter ‘A’ as both the end of UCLA and the beginning of the alphabet. He, also, whimsically rhymes the final letter of the alphabet, ‘Z,’ with the year ‘93’.

EC 2017

Physical Description
A poster featuring "UCLA" at the top, the letters multi-colored, followed by B-Z of the aplphabet in black text, arranged in rows. The 'O' is filled, colored yellow. In the bottom corner, '93' appears. The poster advertises the UCLA Summer Sessions of 1993.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
alphabets (symbols)
graphic design