Thoughts on Design

beautiful and the useful

That the separation of form and function, of concept and execution, is not likely to produce objects of esthetic value has been repeatedly demonstrated

Ideally, beauty and utility are mutually generative

The designer does not, as a rule, begin with some preconceived idea

breaking down of the complex material into its simplest components . . . the how, why, when, and where)

simplified, stylized, geometric, abstract, two-dimensional, flat, non-representational, non-mimetic

The visual statement, on the other hand, which seeks to express the essence of an idea, and which is based on function, fantasy, and analytic judgment, is likely to be not only unique but meaningful and memorable as well

The symbol is thus the common language between artist and spectator

Because advertising art, in the end, deals with the spectator, and because it is the function of advertising to influence him, it follows that the designer’s problem is twofold: to anticipate the spectator’s reactions and to meet his own esthetic needs.

the material furnished him is often inadequate, vague, uninteresting, or otherwise unsuitable for visual interpretation, the designer’s task is to re-create or restate the problem.