“The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.” —Adam Judge What is “bad” design? Compared to “design” and “good design,” we don’t talk much about what makes design “bad.” Sometimes, it is because someone was very intentional about a bunch of decisions and just made bad…

“Design is the application of intent—the opposite of happenstance…” — Robert L. Peters I chose this quote because it pairs nicely with the previous quote from Dieter Rams, and starts to fill out the foundation of my personal conception of what “good” design is. Mr. Rams says that good design is consequent (or thorough, or…

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” —Steve jobs Yeah, I know. A Steve Jobs quote. When you’re done rolling your eyes so far that you can’t use them to read, come on back. This quote can be interpreted in two completely valid ways, one of…

“The role of the designer is that of a very good thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” — Charles eames I just love this point of view because it emphasizes the service aspect of Design. We’re here to cater to the needs of users. Period. Those users are not always the end-users, as…

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” — Ralph waldo emerson The number of times consistency, as a concept, has been weaponized in UX is completely unacceptable, so I love this quote if for no other reason than it ruffles feathers when I use it. But, to understand its true relevance to UX…

“The faster you are proven wrong, the less time you will spend being wrong.” — Erika hall Most of the stakeholders (and about half of the designers) I’ve worked with are biased against research (either generative or summative) for some reason or another. They’re either convinced that they know better, or that they understand the…

“If you can design one thing, you can design anything.” —Massimo Vignelli

“Sell your expertise and you have a limited repertoire. Sell your ignorance and you have an unlimited repertoire.” —R. Saul Wurman

“What works good is better than what looks good, because what works good lasts.“ – Ray Eames Nothing becomes classic overnight. Generally they were the most successful example of their day, and they were successful because they were really good. They are the ones that made it through the filter of history and, for the…

The Dieter Rams design principle, “Good design is consequent to the last detail,” has been floating around in my head for well over a decade now. It resonates so profoundly with the way I practice design, but this is the first time I’ve sat and written out why.