79shortessaysondesign
by humble
This page contains highlights I saved while reading 79shortessaysondesign by humble. These quotes were captured using Readwise and reflect the ideas or passages that stood out to me most.
Highlights
Meryl Streep was once asked why she devoted so much time to perfecting aspects of her performances that would never be visible to a movie audience. She sheepishly replied, "I guess I'm just the kind of person who likes to clean behind the refrigerator."
No one, though, seemed to mention the thing that made Thomas Watson, Jr., a heroic figure among designers everywhere, five little words attributed to him that have been repeated endlessly in articles, speeches, design seminars, and slick presentations to hesitant clients, over and over again, like a mantra: "Good design is good business."
Funny thing, though. "Business people often have the impression that design is only about styling," Peter Lawrence once observed regretfully. And certainly few things are as irritating to today's informed and well-intentioned designer as being dismissed as a mere stylist. Yet go back and reread what the real issue was for Watson: beautiful picture puzzle versus bicarbonate of soda. Good design is good business? Maybe. More like, good design just…well, looks better, for God's sake. In other words, styling.