#johnmaeda

Throughout a designer's career, their eye tends to become more refined, their process becomes more effective, and this helps them identify the notorious "technical adjustments," popularly known as "gambiarras" (workarounds/kludges).

Are designers really that good at analysis? Well, I tell you that the vast majority can identify a "gambiarras" almost instantly. You must know some designer who likes packaging and criticizes logos when walking down the street, in shopping malls, and when reading menus.

While reading Rick Rubin's book "The Creative Act," I usually jot down some ideas in my notepad so that I can later refine them in Notion. I use this as a kind of backlog so as not to lose sight of any idea or provocation for future study. I was struck by a thought about how people receive creative inputs, how they perceive design, and how this affects their lives. The book makes me think about how sensitive we are to external stimuli, how these stimuli affect us, and how we transform this into baggage for creations, turning these often disconnected threads into something solid. As a designer and curious person, I like to test new experiences and put myself in uncomfortable situations; this, in turn, helps me evolve as a creative.

“Knowledge makes everything simpler.” (Maeda, John)

In an ideal world, everyone should have a minimum understanding of design principles. After learning the basics, everyone could think about the causes and possible corrections for inadequate design, which would help them better appreciate design. Below, I briefly describe the main fundamental design topics that everyone should know, even if superficially.

Unity and Harmony

Relates to the complete design having a sense of oneness and things fitting together, making the design appear unique and consistent in various forms. It can be achieved through perspective, similarity, continuity, repetition, rhythm, and balancing of sides. When well done, one feels it is right, even without understanding why.

Balance

Refers to balancing the composition. It can be achieved through symmetry, asymmetry, radial balance (arranged around a central element), and even mosaic-like structures. An unbalanced design is not visually pleasing.

Hierarchy

One of the most important principles, it guides the user's eye through the elements in order of their importance. More important elements generally have greater visual weight, size, or a different appearance.

Scale and Proportion

The use of the relative size of elements to draw attention to a focal point. Increasing the scale of an element increases its value in terms of hierarchy, while decreasing it reduces its value in the composition. It is linked to contrast.

Consistency

Considered one of the most important principles, it involves the uniformity of sizes, typography, spacing, colors, and layouts. It brings a sense of familiarity from everything seen and makes the artifact, application, or system more consistent.

Contrast

Identifies the difference between opposites. It is used to create scale and proportion, consistency, hierarchy, and to direct the eye. It can be created by colors, sizes, position, spaces, textures (including opacity and depth), density, and structure.

“Try to understand how faulty design happened: try to determine how it could have been done differently.” (Norman, Don)