Design quotes
2.8K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside design — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"I have nothing against the Queen of England. Even in my heart I never resented her for not being Jackie Kennedy. She is, to my mind, a very gallant lady, victimized by whoever it is who designs the tops of her uniforms."
"Let no man who is not a Mathematician read the elements of my work."
"Overemphasis of efficiency leads to an unfortunate circularity in design: for reasons of efficiency early programming languages reflected the characteristics of the early computers, and each generation of computers reflects the needs of the programming languages of the preceding generation."
"If we do not design policies to halt, and then reverse population growth, Nature by default will soon exact a most punishing solution"
"The bottom line for mathematicians is that the architecture has to be right. In all the mathematics that I did, the essential point was to find the right architecture. It's like building a bridge. Once the main lines of the structure are right, then the details miraculously fit. The problem is the overall design."
"The low desire, the base design That makes another's virtues less."
"My designs and labors and aspirations are my only friends."
"The painter is, as to the execution of his work, a mechanic; but as to his conception and spirit and design he is hardly below even the poet."
"London, with its monotonous and melancholy houses, seems like an inharmonious patchwork, as if pieced together without design. Yet it is lovable in its sprawling confusion."
"A single word often betrays a great design."
"In its heyday, the car was an expression of technical flair and design genius: the original Mini, the Beetle, the 2CV, and the Fiat 500 were all, in their various ways, inspired incarnations of functionality."
"You can eliminate color and still have a painting that works, but you must have drawing, value and design."
"One universe, four forces, billions of galaxies. The precision and complexity of our world is enough to make even the famous cosmologist go just a little bit crazy. How does it all fit together? Is there a single, overarching design to the cosmos? And if we find it, will we glimpse the mind of God?"
"When we better understand the realities of these women's lives, we are able to design and deliver solutions that are more useful to them."
"The ultimate design of the Mysteries ... was to lead us back to the principles from which we descended, ... a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good."
"Well, you didn't design your beard too well, did you?"
"I think where the criticism of videogames come from is where videogames are just Xeroxes of films, and when you get a film adaptation of that game, you've just Xeroxed something twice. I think that's where a lot of the criticism comes from - there are ultra-violent games that are already based on a million films. But there's definitely beauty and art and design in games. I don't think anybody could deny that."
"The federal debt in this country is principally of Republican design."
"I met designers that are in the business for ten years in the movies, and their biggest complaint is things don't look anything like they were designed. Look at my drawing! But nobody ever sees the drawing, that's the thing. So I knew right from the beginning that I would design everything in 3D on my computer, and those models literally went to the machines. So every little radius on most of the vehicles you see there, I built with my mouse and keyboard."
"In any given marketplace, there's a triangle. There's a line of Dior goods at $25,000 that creates the sharp focus you need to sell $100 scarves to every woman. When [Design Miami] Basel popped on the scene, it proved there's a market for the top of the design triangle, which will lead the wide base beneath it."
