Form must never trump function. Some objects are made to look so smooth, you don't know where to pick them up or how to turn them on. If I'm designing a garlic press or cheese grater, I need my hand to fit comfortably on it. I like to know, instinctively, how to use it.
Interpretation
Functionality should always be prioritized over aesthetic appeal in design.
In this quote, Michael Graves emphasizes the importance of functionality in design over mere appearance. He advocates for creating objects that are not only visually appealing but also intuitive and comfortable to use, suggesting that the effectiveness of an object should guide its form.
In practice
Using this quote in a design class to illustrate the importance of practicality in product design.
Good design should be available to everyone - and I do mean everyone. What I spent on the wheelchair I'm in could buy a small Mercedes. It's not only unfair to me; it's unfair to someone who's indigent but has the same needs. My goal is to make all objects affordable.
We've taken on health care in a big way in our office, ever since nine years ago when I was paralyzed. I was in eight different hospitals, three different rehab centers, and all the rooms were dreadful. As an architect, designer, and patient, I can do something to help.
Instead of using the machine as a metaphor for architecture, as Le Corbusier did, I use the human body. I want the public to know that it's them I'm designing for.
I believe well-designed places and objects can actually improve healing, while poor design can inhibit it.
Design should not dominate things, should not dominate people. It should help people. That's its role.
It is not how much empty space there is, but rather how it is used. It is not how much information there is, but rather how effectively it is arranged.
Design principle: Take things away until the design breaks, then put that last thing back in.
Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it's decoration.
Great design will not sell an inferior product, but it will enable a great product to achieve its maximum potential.
Design needs to be plugged into human behavior. Design dissolves in behavior.
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