30 Brilliant Design Quotes That Inspire Us

Working in an industry that allows us to produce new and thrilling designs every day is something most people would be envious of. But, just like any other career, graphic and web designers still need a little inspiration every once in a while.

Lucky for us, there have been many talented artists, designers, business people, and dreamers who have encouraged us with their words of wisdom.

In this post, we’ve compiled 30 design quotes that inspire us to dream bigger, create more, and not be afraid to take chances on our work.

Top Design Quotes

“Make it simple but significant.” – Don Draper

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

“If no one hates it, no one really loves it.” – Jessica Walsh

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keefe

“The details are not the details, they make the design.” – Charles Eames

“Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent.” – Joe Sparano

“Creativity is allowing yourself mistakes. Design is knowing is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“People ignore designs that ignore people” – Frank Chimero

“Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.” – Caterina Fake

“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.” – Ralf Speth

“Design is thinking made visual.” – Saul Bass

“Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design.” – Charles Eames

“Thinking about design is hard, but not thinking about it can be disastrous.” – Ralph Caplan

“Get rid of everything that is not essential to making a point.” – Christoph Niemann

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

“Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” – Cecil B. Demille

“Good design is like a refrigerator. When it works, no one notices, but when it doesn’t, it sure stinks.” – Irene Au

“Good design is good business.” – Thomas Watson Jr.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – Henry Ford

“They don’t want quarter-inch bits. They want quarter-inch holes.” – Leo McGinneva

“There are three responses to a piece of design: yes, no, and wow! Wow is the one to aim for.” – Milton Glaser

“Every great design begins with an even better story.” – Lorinda Mamo

“Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.” – Jeffrey Zeldman

“A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it’s not that good.” – Martin LeBlanc, Iconfinder

“Design is as much an act of spacing as an act of marking.” – Ellen Lupton

“Do not seek praise. Seek criticism.” – Paul Arden

“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.” – Dr. Edwin Land

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