March 11, 2009
So in one sense, mastering grids is a very low-level, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of thing. But I think in a larger sense, it’s an important part in every designer’s growth because it trains you to see and think about context, how smaller parts fit into a larger whole. Once you begin ordering elements with a grid, then you inevitably apply similar logic to the entirety of a document or site or what have you, and then to the process and workflow that drive your design brief, and then perhaps to the organization as a whole. Rigorous thinking about small details can effect meaningful changes in the big picture.
Khoi Vinh
Design Director, NYTimes.com
Source: Interview with Khoi Vinh by Antonio Carusone, AisleOne
Labels: Grid
March 9, 2009
The more that I think of myself, truly, in the best sense of the word, as a vessel for the writer, as simply there to present the writer’s ideas, the less self-conscious I become and the more I am able to lose myself completely. I think that I’m one of the few actors now on a film set who doesn’t ever look at the video. It’s become habitual for actors to get up after a take and run and watch, and I think it’s a mistake, and I think directors should ban actors from doing it … because I think that every time you go over to the video, no matter how honest you’ve been on camera, there’s a shard of you that says ‘I look better if I do this’ or ‘Oh my voice’ … Now I won’t look because I want the process to be the reward.
Frank Langella
Stage and Film Actor
Source: Charlie Rose with The Stars of the 81st Academy Awards
Labels: Process
March 7, 2009
A client comes to you with a definition of the problem, or ideas about what they want to accomplish. Sometimes they have a sophisticated view of it, sometimes they don’t. I find myself frequently spending time with the client redefining the problem, backing up, going back to the beginning. Not infrequently the ‘problem’ turns out to be the ‘symptom.’ You have to sometimes move back, in order to move forward to really understand what the nature of the solution should be.
Saul Bass
Graphic Designer, Filmmaker
Source: Communication Arts (November 1989)
Labels: Problem Solving
March 6, 2009
I find working on letterforms to be very relaxing. It allows my mind to slow down and I can background process the day’s events while focusing intensely on something on a very micro level. I get stressed very easily, and working with type forces me to focus intently, which calms me down considerably. I also have insomnia, and I spend that time working on type, which keeps me from getting upset that I can’t get to sleep.
Corey Holms
Graphic Designer
Source: Corey Holms Watches the Watchmen by BeeJay, LetterCult
Via: Quipsologies
Labels: Typography
March 5, 2009
So brand-building, whether for individuals or brands, depends on increasing the value you deliver and how you do it. Your brand is not the perception you want to create; it’s the reality of who you are. It’s not the way to get noticed; it’s what you do on a daily basis. It’s not about being different for the sake of being different; it’s about delivering unique value to your customers by being the only person who does what you do the way you do it.
Denise Lee Yohn
Owner/Consulting Partner, Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
Source: brand you? by Denise Lee Yohn
Via: WorkWorkWork
Labels: Brand
March 5, 2009
Design is about the underlying purpose and what you want to communicate. Design as decoration, or design without purpose, often hurts more than it helps.
Garrett Dimon
Designer/Developer, Next Update
Source: 35 Designers x 5 Questions by Smashing Magazine
Labels: Defining Design
March 5, 2009
Good design is simple. You hear this from math to painting. In math it means that a shorter proof tends to be a better one. Where axioms are concerned, especially, less is more. It means much the same thing in programming. For architects and designers it means that beauty should depend on a few carefully chosen structural elements rather than a profusion of superficial ornament. (Ornament is not in itself bad, only when it’s camouflage on insipid form.) Similarly, in painting, a still life of a few carefully observed and solidly modelled objects will tend to be more interesting than a stretch of flashy but mindlessly repetitive painting of, say, a lace collar. In writing it means: say what you mean and say it briefly.
Paul Graham
Essayist, Programmer, Programming Language Designer
Source: Taste for Makers by Paul Graham
Labels: Good Design
