“What people are afraid of isn’t failure. It’s blame. Criticism. We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it […]
Jeff Bezos once said…
If you never want to be criticized, for goodness’ sake don’t do anything new. —Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO
Nicholas Burroughs once said…
Minimalism is not a lack of something. It’s simply the perfect amount of something. —Nicholas Burroughs
Raymond Joseph Teller once said…
Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect. —Raymond Joseph Teller (from this article)
Malcolm Gladwell once said…
Hard work is a prison cell only if the work has no meaning. —Malcolm Gladwell
Dieter Rams once said…
Question everything generally thought to be obvious —Dieter Rams For me, right now, this means – rethink all of my design tendencies. For example: Is Helvetica right for this project too? Does this website need to be centered (margin: 0 auto; for the web nerds)? Do buttons need rounded corners and a gradient? In your […]
Good design is….
Recently, I came across Dieter Rams’ ten principles of good design. I didn’t even know who Dieter Rams was – but assumed that he was surely a graphic designer, based on his definition of good design (and maybe the glasses). I was wrong! (which proves good design is transcendent) Dieter Rams is an industrial designer […]
Arthur Schopenhauer once said…
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. —Arthur Schopenhauer
Steve Jobs once said…
“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep […]
On Excellence
Excellence is not a skill, it is an attitude. —Ralph Marston You don’t learn to be excellent, you learn to work your butt off and do your best in everything. Excellence will be the likely outcome.
Design is not about innovation
Design is not about innovation. Design is about communication. Innovation in design is usually a wonderful byproduct or direct result of a particular need. Design that seeks to foremost be innovative will commonly fall apart under its own stylistic girth. — Jason Santa Maria
On critiquing design
A person tends to critique a design in one of several ways. The most common, and usually least valuable, is by gut reaction. — D. Keith Robinson I totally agree here. I remember back when I interned at Workbench Magazine (now My Home My Style) and the Assistant Art Director, Doug Appleby would critique the […]
Jessica Hische once said…
The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life. — Jessica Hische