Paul Rand was an American graphic designer and art director. He is best known for his corporate work, creating logos for companies such as IBM, UPS, and Enron. He is arguably the most influential logo designer of the 20th century so there are a few things we can take from him and his work.
As this post on 99design illustrates, there are four things to consider when designing a logo:
1) “A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around.”
In other words, a designer should not focus on creating a logo with a lot of meaning to the company, instead create a logo that will become meaningful because it is associated with the company/product. An amazing logo will only be looked at as amazing if it is associated with an amazing company.
2) “The only mandate in logo design is that they be distinctive, memorable and clear.”
Meaning there are little restrictions when designing. As long as it has good design principals, and is eye-catching, it doesn’t matter what it looks like.
3) Presentation is key
You need to know how to explain and present your design in a way people will understand and see that your design will explain and present itself out in the world.
4) “Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.”
Essentially, if it’s a good logo, it will be simple. There’s no need to strive for simplicity.
Below are some examples of his work. 
Graphic Design Fall 2018 