Design is not an easy business – if it were, everyone would do it! Like any business, over time you develop your own philosophy or code of conduct for yourself that you live by – commonly referred to as maxims in design. Read this article to gain an understanding of design maxims.
Below are five maxims we hope can assist in your creative journey.
Table of Contents
What are design maxims?
Leadership Starts from Within
Over y 25-year business career, one thing that has struck me as being true is that not everyone wants to lead projects. Leading is a significant undertaking with many unknowns that must be navigated successfully. Leadership can be daunting and many assume you know all the answers, which may not always be the case. One metaphor I like using to illustrate this idea is envisioning an effective leader as being like a guide through a forest.
Experienced guides are preferable, yet no guarantee that you won’t take an unintended turn or become disorientated in creative woods. Leaders work to find a path out that may require detours, repelling off cliffs or running from bears – this way providing direction while taking responsibility for project outcome.
Design for me has one simple distinction when it comes to leadership; when compared with making something specific for fun or solving something larger. Making is always enjoyable because there is no right or wrong answer when creating things; I love making! I love exploring ideas, but that is different than being driven to solve larger problems and lead. A true project leader strives to arrive at the appropriate solution through building teams; while also taking measures to identify any contingencies or potential pitfalls.
Why does this matter? Simply, when undertaking any project for money, ensuring the client feels they have received what they were promised while at the same time feeling like your team have performed to the best of their ability is of vital importance. Leaders ensure this outcome remains front and centre at every turn.
I believe some individuals are better suited to lead than others, and would divide these people into two distinct categories. One group would include individuals that would make great subjects for history channel biographies: individuals that are extremely passionate and driven about an issue while simultaneously being highly self-indulgent and oddballs.
Many leaders come to mind who have combined talent, vision and personal hubris into one person – this type of leader often appears larger-than-life. As much as I admire this type of leader archetype, I find it limiting because it puts one person front-and-center as the sole author, which we all know isn’t true. Great achievements require more than one visionary’s commitment and expertise – to assume one person has all of the answers is unfair and biasing towards those working behind-the-scenes for successful projects and discounts all of their hard work and contribution to success.
Leaders that strive to serve the work and the concept, rather than themselves, are known as servant leaders. While all leaders seek to solve issues for their constituents, true masters don’t tire of taking that journey to get there. I have had the great fortune to collaborate with some incredibly creative individuals who also happen to be fantastic leaders.
Creative leaders I have met who excel are adept at striking an effective balance between their art of creation and leadership’s many dependencies in order to solve larger problems. They serve both functions – creator and manager; maker and solver – with incredible aplomb. Leader and soldier! I admire this type of leader because they stay close to their work and understand all of its sweat and pain required for great achievements to occur.
Typography Is Everything
The value of typography within graphic design cannot be overstated; typography has the power to transform designs. Good typography can make or break everything else and mastering its use will separate good work from great. Designers need to master two aspects of typography when it comes to typeface selection: knowing where the best typefaces can be found, as well as using them effectively within designs themselves. When it comes to font selection and usage within designs themselves. Good typeface selection requires knowledge about what are considered appropriate fonts & where they can be found; while adept usage will differentiate good work from great work. When it comes to typography designers need mastery over two aspects: typeface selection (knowing where good fonts may lie within designs themselves), and type usage within designs itself – knowing where good fonts lie as well. When selecting fonts is key when used effectively within designs itself – good knowledge regarding typeface selection requires knowing where good typefaces may lie within designs itself & usage a design requires knowing which fonts belong and finding it within designs itself as part of design itself a design will separate good work from great work. To be great when used effectively within designs itself. When it comes to typography designers must master two key areas when using typography effectively within designs themselves:
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Contemporary graphic designers must possess great respect for type. Much like record collectors, modern graphic designers need to understand the relationships between what is being designed and the typeface or system best suited to express its subject matter and purpose. Outstanding type foundries such as Pangram Pangram, Blaze Displaay General Type Studio Florian Karsten Edition Studio are only some of the small foundries who deserve more praise for creating typefaces that allow capable graphic designers to craft extraordinary solutions through design; without great type designers we would not have such talented graphic designers! Without talented type designers we would not have such talented graphic designers in today’s society!
Timeless typefaces like Garamond and Helvetica remain timeless classics; trendy ones, such as Brown was all the rage?, can quickly become outdated as soon as they’re overused; keeping abreast of emerging typefaces with your knowledge, compositional creativity and legibility abilities is key for keeping ahead of trends and staying relevant in terms of composition, creativity and legibility is essential for long-term success.
John Mayer recently talked to Kerwin Frost (skip to 25:10 in) and stated his view on free fonts being “bullshit”, noting when you see one used on record covers or websites it can be obvious. To invest in quality, Mr. Mayer advocated spending money on quality typefaces while using subpar free typefaces “your brain won’t know but your heart can.” I don’t know much of Mr. Mayer’s music but am glad someone with broad appeal like himself demonstrated the importance of investing in quality typefaces when making things that make cultural work such as music productions; as John advised: “Just buy the font.”
It is critical have the ability to write and articulate your creative thinking
Writing and communicating your creative thinking are vital skills as a designer, especially as your career advances. Your work won’t always speak for itself and other people’s perception of it may differ greatly from yours; we all experience aesthetics through different lenses of experience which makes aesthetics quite subjective – this subjectivity can become particularly frustrating when developing brands.
Clients, for instance, may not share your sense of taste and may gravitate toward ideas you consider inferior to theirs. To address this subjective preference in writing and verbally argumentation. You must demonstrate to a client how their subjective preferences will negatively impact project outcome; otherwise it becomes just another subjective discussion over personal taste resulting in deadlock or agree-disagree and agreement-dispute without resolution.
As a graphic designer, this is of critical importance – you must be able to convince non-visual people of the value and purpose of your creative work by verbally rationalizing its meaning so they can appreciate and comprehend your thinking within it. Show them the light; convince them your idea is superior while explaining its impact on business goals and the bottom line. As part of your job as a graphic designer you must do this verbally during meetings, short form presentations, or long form emailings in order to make sure even ideas that may not necessarily appeal subjectively will be understood objectively superior solutions.
Avoid Confusing Design Work With Its Scene
I have always been an admirer of design. What remains most fascinating for me – whether that means design, illustration, or art – is the work itself – from graphic design, illustration or art – that inspires and drives me forward creatively. As your career develops you may meet fellow designers as well as join professional organizations like AIGA or D&AD; such organizations provide networking opportunities as well as possible award wins; however they may take too much of your time when you could otherwise be designing!
As I often describe it, being a race car driver differs significantly from being part of its fan club. Creative agencies can be likened to race car companies in that their performance goals are paramount; design organizations act more like fan clubs by supporting and celebrating agency work. I myself have certainly experienced my share of design groupies: attending conferences or speaking engagements where some of my heroes speak or attending conferences and wanting to meet some of them; however, ultimately the most meaningful creative relationships have come through working on projects together with design colleagues over time and building projects together or creating lasting interactions among design colleagues that has enabled us to build meaningful and lasting creative relationships that last much longer than temporary groupieship.
Design superfandom can be fun, but your own work should come first. Spending too much energy “in the scene,” whether online or in-person, may feel instantly fulfilling but is no replacement for making work and honing your skills; without great creative output you are just a spectator.
Always look for Learning
Learning new skills is as essential to our lives as talent itself, so we remain ever students of design. While its fundamentals remain timeless, as culture, technology, and society continue to change so does design’s creative industry – leading us down a journey in which design advances noticeably every 18 months alongside software applications and business processes.
What Are Conversational Maxis?
Paul Grice first proposed Conversational Maxis as a set of principles intended to explain how speakers and listeners work together for successful communication.
By understanding these maxims, we are better prepared to develop conversational interfaces that are engaging, intuitive and user-friendly.
1. Quality at its Core
A delightful conversational experience should be built on trust. That means avoiding lying, exaggerating or making unsubstantiated claims in our conversations with each other and our users; any information provided must come from reliable sources and must meet quality criteria before being provided to the recipient of that information.
2. Maxim of Quantity
Our aim should be to give users just enough information to convey a clear message without over-explaining, while at the same time being concise while omitting unnecessary details or repetitions.
3. Maxim of Relevance
Anything communicated to users must be related directly to their topic of inquiry in order to prevent confusion and ensure maximum efficiency.
4. Maxim of Manner
Whereas other maxims focus on what is being communicated, the maxim of manner focuses more on how something is said or written down. To adhere to this principle effectively, messages should be clear and unambiguous, without using intransparent language or confusing terms.
5. Maxim of Politeness
Conversations don’t occur in a vacuum. Everything we say must always take into account social norms and conventions of any given situation, just as our schooling taught us to be polite and considerate toward others. Just as it’s important to maintain polite dialogues during conversations, so should it also apply during conversational experiences.
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