FROM THE
GREATS
IT’S A PROCESS / 04
FROM THE
GREATS
GOOD WORDS Part of what makes being a designer so great is the community we work in and the creative people who run ahead of us—the people we look up to. This book is filled with quotes from some of those “greats,” people whose work and creativity can inspire and help you along the way. Take their words to heart as you work through your own design process. Maybe some lessons they’ve learned will help you along the way. Read on!
FIGHT, The life of a designer is a life of
fight against the ugliness.
— MASSIMO VIGNELLI
There is no design without discipline. MASSIMO
There is no discipline without intelligence. VIGNELLI
do all this!
The reward? Why, the reward is to
Massimo Vignelli
LESS IS NOT NECESSARILY MORE. JUST ENOUGH IS MORE. MILTON GLASER
elight Milton Glaser
The purpose of graphic design is not only to inform but also to
“ There are three responses to a piece of design: yes, no, and WOW!
is the one to aim for.� milton glaser
more important
Solving any problem is
than being right. Milton Glaser
Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking. _Milton Glaser
DON’T TRY TO BE T ’ N ORIGINAL. E O B D TO AL. Y TR IGIN R O
G N I E B OD O G ARD . H H IS OUG EN PAUL RAND
“
If I was influenced by anything, it was architecture: structure having to do with logic. If you don't do it right, the whole thing is going to cave in. In a certain sense, you can carry that to graphic design.
Fortunately, however, nobody is going to die if you do it wrong.” Paul Rand
“ EVERYTHING IS DESIGN. EVERYTHING!”
PAUL RAND
pushing If you continue
your
LIMITS inspires clients you, with personal work that
what
you’re CAPABLE of.
WILL SEE
Dana Tanamachi-Williams
I remember thinking, “Wow, so you’re telling me that the spaces between each letter in a word really matter, and that they should all visually be the same?
And I decided that I wanted to be one of those people. Dana Tanamachi-Williams
“The details are not the details. They make the design.� Charles Eames
Of course design is about problem solving, but I cannot resist adding something
Wim Crouwel
“ Working within the constraints of a problem is part of the fun and challenge of design.� Ellen Lupton
think
more
design
less ellen lupton
“Don’t let trying to do it right GET IN THE WAY
of trying to do it.” MITCH GOLDSTEIN
MAKE How to make great work:
LOTS
AND
LOTS
OF WORK Some of it might be great. — Mitch Goldstein
always
— mitch goldstein
better than not
is
making
&
Complexity SIMPLICITY
NEED EACH OTHER.
John Maeda
DESIGN ISN’T JUST BATTLING UGLINESS. IT’S ALSO AN UNENDING FIGHT FOR BEAUTY, BALANCE, CONSISTENCY, AND PARITY, BECAUSE THE WORLD DEVOLVES INTO AN UGLY, IMBALANCED, INCONSISTENT, AND UNEQUAL PLACE UNLESS WE ARE
FRANK CHIMERO
f People ignore design that ignores people. — Frank Chimero
i
“MAKING THINGS LOOK NICE IS EASY. THINKING IS HARDER. INTEGRATING BOTH REQUIRES REAL TALENT.” ASTRID STAVRO
good idea “if a
can be explained in a single sentence, it follows that
visual simplicity is the most functional form for a clever concept.”
angus hyland
ALL DES MAT ALL DESIGN MATTERS
“ I think graphic design is an important profession because it’s part of what we put out into the world, and it’s what people see and perceive.
SIGN TTER It’s not just about doing design for the ‘public good.’ I think all design matters and all design deserves to be intelligent.” — Paula Scher
In a well-made book, where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many thousands of lines and pages they must occupy,
letters are the
alive They dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles. Robert Bringhurst
“By all means
and break them beautifully, deliberately, and well.”
ROBERT BRINGHURST
Typography is the craft of
endowing HUMAN
language
with a
durable VISUAL
form Robert Bringhurst
“DESIGN HAS TO WORK, ART DOES NOT.” DONALD JUDD
Being a famous designer is like being a famous electrician. Stefan Sagmeister
You can have an
in front of a Rembrandt‌ or in front of a piece of graphic design.
Stefan Sagmeister
The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee. Josef M端llerBrockmann
perfect typography is certainly the most elusive of all arts. sculpture in stone alone comes near it in obstinacy.
jan tschichold
Hang your quotes and kern your 1’s, guys. It’s the key to life.
Scott Biersack
I WANT TO MAKE BEAUTIFUL THINGS EVEN IF NOBODY CARES. SAUL BASS
“ You don’t go to art school to learn to write, right? Wrong.” Steven Heller
CREATIVITY TAKES COURAGE. HENRI MATISSE
Artists are “a canary in the cultural mines.” Artists smell the poisoned air and
Makoto Fujimura
Of course we can judge a
Book
Cover by its
Moreover, we are obliged to.
—Simon Garfield
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said
FASTER HORSES —Henry Ford
A designer is a planner with an aesthetic sense. Bruno Munari
“ Do good work for good people.” Aaron Draplin
O
Every
NEW THING you make will be (should be)
A
the
NICEST THING you’ve made so far. —Jessica Hische
A
“” Graphic design is special because it participates in the world of communication.
Michael Bierut
C
Clients ARE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
&Art
MICHAEL BIERUT
Is a lifetime spent in
?
details that no one will ever see a waste?
If it were, culture as we know it would simply not exist.
Astrid Stavro
Š 2016 Carrie Donovan