How to design better?
A collection of ideas on the design process and creating great designs
How to design better?
Rule #5: Stretch and warm up
Because of the pre-work I’ve done before starting—back to physics—I’m already moving by the time I “start” working, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. The bad news is that my work will almost always be acted upon by an unbalanced force. It’s called life. Counteract this force by building momentum. Start all pieces of work a bit earlier, ... See more
Dan Mall • Dan Mall’s 10 Principles for a Worthy Design Career | Figma Blog
Rule #7: Keep moving
Grid system design should begin with a constraint. Something that is knowable and unchangeable. This constraint is used to build the modules of your grid. In book design, that constraint is defined by the page through subdivision. Book designers take the page, divide it up into a modular grid of spaces. These spaces (called modules) are then combin... See more
A Richer Canvas - Mark Boulton
Content out
We call it a belief system because it's more than a collection of values. It's how we see the world and what is missing.
- Make stuff you use every day —it makes for a better life.
- Make it better —do less if you need to.
- Nothing is finished —everything can be rethought.
- Think small —make one small part of the world as it should be.
- Slow down —put in
Building a Belief System | !Boring Software
“Good work” feels like a bunch of highly skilled, tasteful, diverse, and thoughtful people looking at an idea and saying, “I like that...I like that a lot”—and then being totally okay with it when the collective group comes up with an even better idea.
Matter
Lessons:
1. Imitate
Copywork is a great way to build the design muscles.
2. Remix
Start tweaking and fuse you'r imagination into it.
3. Invent
The “adjacent possible” is drawing connections from seeminlgy unrelated concepts/things and placing them together.
Dan gives the best breakdown of any designers process, that actually reveals the little nuances the nitty gritty parts of the process .
But at the time, I questioned this approach. Why study semiotics when I could be building a portfolio site? Why pull all-nighters just to endure brutal critiques—tossing the work away and starting over? But the process—thinking, making, critique—proved transformative. The school wasn’t teaching design as ornamentation or styling. Instead, it was an... See more