Twenty-Eight Design Aphorisms Before Boston...
1. Everything in life is ephemeral, don’t expect anything you design to live forever.
2. Use technology, don’t let it use you.
3. Be aware of what you make and what it says, because people live and die through all of the images we create.
4. We need more teamwork.
5. Have your cake and eat it too; participate in design “research.”
6. Have a backup plan.
7. Designers are not monkeys, they do not merely articulate.
8. New ideas are made every single day; unless you repeat yourself, it’s new. Don’t worry about whether or not the person next to you is doing it, or will do it.
9. Trust no one. No matter how original your idea seems, somebody else is looking to do it better, and probably cheaper.
10. Keep your enemies close. (See number 9.)
11. Media allegiance spells limitation. Think first, then choose what tools to use.
12. There’s nothing wrong with design that looks like art.
13. There’s nothing wrong with art that looks like design.
14. Think holistically.
15. Work in a style that maximizes your performance and well being.
16. Appreciate your audiences’ needs and team members’ skills.
17. Establish objectives prior to form.
18. Brainstorm. Fail frequently. Enjoy the element of play.
19. There are no truisms.
20. A connoisseur of design is not a designer.
21. Design history is not a chronicle of style; you cannot truly critique design unless you fully understand its history.
22. Ideology, thought, and agenda are as important as aesthetics.
23. Design without ego.
24. Statements like “Designers Don’t Think” are short-sighted at best.
25. There is always more than one solution.
26. There will always be revisions.
27. The entire process of design is its essence. Without process, we are left with merely style and solutions.
28. Aesthetic biases are and are not the purest form of design.
Comments
Very nice. A couple questions though:
20. A connoisseur of design is not a designer.
Can that read the same as "a connoisseur of design is not necessarily a designer"? Because wouldn't you say that there are plenty of designers who fully understand its history, and that, in some ways, makes them a connoisseur? Much like wine connoisseurs know all about different types of wine, where they come from, how they're made, their flavors, etc.
Or is it more similar to someone who knows what they like and dislike (about design), and is too set in their ways to accept a valid design solution that is outside of their tastes?
Posted by: danny | September 14, 2005 12:08 AM
So why stop at twenty eight aphorisms? I'm sure you could add a couple more. What's the significance between the numbers?
Posted by: Michael Surtees | September 14, 2005 01:28 AM
7. Designers are not monkeys, they do not merely articulate.
24. Statements like “Designers Don’t Think” are short-sighted at best.
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The more I hang around designers the more I realise that they are pretty much exactly like everyone else in the world (We only think we're different--just like everyone else in the world), which means that statments 7 & 24 are incorrect most of the time. Aphorisn'ts?
Posted by: Jeff Gill | September 14, 2005 07:03 AM
These are great, Jason. I'm sharing them with my students.
Posted by: AmyP | September 14, 2005 08:50 AM
Michael, how right you are. Hence the title's ellipsis.
Posted by: Jason Tselentis | September 14, 2005 08:52 AM
Oh, I know all about number one. I used to work in Silicon Valley (in Boston now -- see ya'll on Friday) and without exception, every client in my portfolio from those days either went bankrupt or was aquired by another company. I've found that I am much happier in a job that, while still fleeting, the design that I do has more social meaning than selling an electronic component. I suppose the lesson there is, don't expect your design to live forever, but make it mean something while it's here.
Posted by: Alan | September 14, 2005 10:39 AM
Okay, not to pick too much. But if I've learned anything, 25. There is always more than one solution, may be true but would you really admit that to your client? Aren't we as designers striving to develop the solution that works best? Am I overeaching here or just plain jealous that I'm not packing for Boston?
Great list, Jason. Have a great time in BeanTown.
Posted by: Rob | September 14, 2005 02:17 PM
29. Allow for any possible design aphorism interpretation.
Posted by: Lorenzo | September 16, 2005 04:23 AM
I'm with Rob on #25. I agree that there is always more than one solution, but one solution is always better [strategically of course, which is the point, right?] than the rest... identifying it is the hallmark of the good designer.
Posted by: Iain Hamilton | September 16, 2005 09:01 AM
I'm with Rob on #25. I agree that there is always more than one solution, but one solution is always better [strategically of course, which is the point, right?] than the rest... identifying it is the hallmark of the good designer.
Posted by: IH | September 16, 2005 09:01 AM
I'm with Rob on #25. I agree that there is always more than one solution, but one solution is always better [strategically of course, which is the point, right?] than the rest... identifying it is the hallmark of the good designer.
Posted by: IH | September 16, 2005 09:01 AM
I'm with Rob on #25. I agree that there is always more than one solution, but one solution is always better [strategically of course, which is the point, right?] than the rest... identifying it is the hallmark of the good designer.
Posted by: IH | September 16, 2005 09:01 AM
#1. Everything in life is ephemeral, . . . Not Aphorisms!!
Posted by: Ankur | November 10, 2005 04:18 AM
#2. Use technology, don’t let it use you - technology uses Indians to find it way next.
Posted by: Ankur | November 10, 2005 04:19 AM