The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one's preconceived ideas. In the event, one is always bewildered by their simplicity, their grandeur of design, and by that element of the bizzare which seems inherent in them.
—Jean Cocteau
A major problem in the development of Elias Howe's sewing machine was the location of the eye of the needle. The inventor was rapidly running out of money and ideas when one night he had a peculiar dream. He was being led to his execution for failing to design a sewing machine for the king of a strange country. He was surrounded by guards, all of whom carried spears that were pierced near the head. Realizing instantly that this was the solution to his problem, Howe woke up and rushed straight to his workshop. By nine o'clock that morning, the design of the first sewing machine was well on the way to completion.
—Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes
Luck is the residue of design.
—Branch Rickey
To dismiss front-end design as mere 'icing' is to jeopardize the success of any site.
—Curt Cloninger
Design is directed toward human beings. To design is to solve human problems by identifying them and executing the best solution.
—Ivan Chermayeff
To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.
—Milton Glaser
Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated.
—Paul Rand
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
—Steve Jobs
In most people's vocabularies, design means veneer. It's interior decorating. It's the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.
—Steve Jobs
It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.
—Steve Jobs
Form follows function.
—Louis Sullivan