Here’s the second part about the numerous design rules, that have flooded the world of design, even nowadays. In part one we already talked about 10 well-known design-rules, what they mean and what their origin is. So If you babble a design rule to a client, be sure you know where the specific rule means.

Most of these rules are familiar sayings that some designers consider to be valuable words of wisdom, which serve as a guideline and source of inspiration. Of course there are always designers who think these rules are more or less restrictions: design dogmas that need to be bended, twisten or broken.

In this second part we take a look at 10 other well-known design rules:

“A Camel is a Horse designed by a Committee”

This rule, which implies that design by committee doesn’t work, comes courtesy of Sir Alec Issigonis (1906-1988). Sir Ales Issigonis was a Greek-British car designer, best known for giving the world the Mini.

“Style is not to be trusted”

Style. It’s a certain je ne sais quoi ^[1]. It’s elusive, hard to define and according to graphic designer Milton Glaser, it’s something that should not be trusted. In 2001 the man who brought the worls the ‘I ♥ NY’ – logo (I love New York)gave a talk in which he discussedthe 10 thingshe had learned in his impressive career. Lesson no. 7 on the list? “Style is not to be Trusted”.

“Design is not Art”

Usability and Strategy are often considered to be the decisive factors in the whole art vs. design debate. The general agreement seems to be: if you can’t use it, it’s probably art. But with the dividing line between art and design growing increasingly blurry, the debate continues.

“Think outside of the Box”

In the 1970s an 1980s consultants introduced the so-called nine-dots puzzle which challenged clients to connect all nine dots with four, continious lines and without lifting the pen from the paper. Solving the puzzle required to think outside of the box. Who came up with the puzzle remains somewhat of a mystery. It is said to have been used in-house at the Walt-Disney Company. But at the same time John Adair (1934), the renowned British authority on leadership, claimed to have introduced the concept of ‘thinking outside of the box’ in 1969.

“God is in the details”

This rule is often attributed to German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969), but the motto was also a favorite of German art historian and cultural theorist Aby Warburg (1866 – 1929). Still, the seed was probably planted by Gustave Flaubert (1821 – 1880), who said: “Le bon Dieu est dans le détail”.

‘Design and Beauty can be found in the little things’ is a saying I hear more often lately, but in fact it supports the same vision.

“Make the Logo bigger”

In the world of advertising sex sells and size does matter, or at least that’s what they say.

In his book ‘Hey, Whipple, Squeese this: A Guide to Creating Great Ads‘, Luke Sullivansums it up perfectly: “Clients are about their logos like guys are about their ****, you know what. They love talking about them. They love to look at them. They want you to look at them. They think the bigger they are, the more effective they are. And they try to sneak looks at other guys’ logos when they can. But as any woman can tell you, nobody cares”.

Indeed, it’s not the size of the logo that matters, it’s what you do with it and how you do it.

“Helvetica always works”

There are 2 types of typographers on this planet: the ones who just love and adore Helvetica and others who hate this typeface.

These days the clean-cut typeface, which was designed back in 1957 by Max Miedinger, seems more popular then ever thanks to Lars Müller’s book ‘Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface‘, the rebirth of Swiss-Style graphics and the feature-length documentary by Gary Hustwit that travelled the world over.

“The Logo must be memorable”

It’s the golden rule of logo design. Following closely behind the principle of simplicity (see Part1), is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple, yet, appropriate logo.

Simple logos are often easily recognized, incredibly memorable and the most effective in conveying the requirements of the client. Everything is at best illustrated by advertising icons like McDonald’s Golden Arches and Nike’s swoosh!

“If you don’t know what to do .. make it Big and Red”

Not much colors evoke strong emotions and have a broader range of significance than the color red. As for this specific rule, it’s basically a variation of the old saying:”If you can’t make it good, make it big. If you can’t make it big, make it red.” This saying has been ascribed to a range of designers, but it seems somewhat of a mystery as to who said it first?

“It’s better to be Good, than to be Original”

German-born American architect Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969), best known for his rule “Less is More”, also argued that ït is better to be good than to be original”.

Conclusion

Evidently, creativity knows no bounds and therefore it seems rather ludicrous to restrict that creativity by following  some old-aged rules. However, in most cases the rules seem more like basic principles that every designer should love, honor and obey.

Footnotes

^[1] From French: je ne sais quoi, literally ‘I don’t know what’.

Whichever side you find yourself on in this rules-debate, I hope you find this serie a source of inspiration, joy, comfort or just good old fun!

My name is Jan Rajtoral and I am the Founder of and Designer at gonzodesign, providing design services across the full spectrum of Brand Identity, Graphic Design, Print and Advertising Design & Website Design.

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