It's like r/Showerthoughts, but about design…or drawings of Batman
“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.
“When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” R. Buckminster fuller I love this quote because it gives me a constructive way to work with beauty as a strategic imperative. Beauty is, after all, subjective,…
“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the byproduct of a good idea and modest expectations.” Paul rand There are lots of influential design quotes about simplicity, and lord knows we all get beat over the head with the idea that good design is inherently simple enough to make us all sick. That’s why I…
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.” Chuck close We’ve probably all seen this idea expressed by a lot of creative professionals because, let’s face it, people often think of what we do as something less than real work and need to be reminded. I’ve always liked…
“Don’t try to be original. Just try to be good.” Paul Rand I’ve always loved this quote. When I was primarily a graphic designer, it was a reminder that originality is not job number 1. In graphic design, communication is usually job number one, and everything else is in service to that. When I transitioned…
A brief explanation of why I decided to share the quotes that inspire my design practice.
Sometime in 2018 I got bored in an interminable series of meetings and started doodling Batman in my notebook. Truth is, this is the first thing I’ve done with every piece of drawing technology that has been handed to me since 1989. I found myself doing it more and more, and eventually, I started posting…
Are you subtly subverting your own brand by choosing a common Front End Framework? It is often overlooked by proponents of these systems that they are equal parts User Interface Convention and Brand Expression. Although they have benefits, they have costs as well.
The problem is not that we can’t predict bad behavior online, it’s that we can’t agree on what’s bad.