Good design is clear thinking made visible, bad design is stupidity made visible
Edward TufteRead
Good design is a lot like clear thinking made visual.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good design translates clear thoughts into visual forms.
This quote emphasizes the importance of effective design as a means of conveying clarity and understanding. Just as clear thinking can help in resolving complex issues, good design enables ideas to be communicated visually, making them more accessible and engaging to others.
Themes
DesignClarityVisualThinkingCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
A design seminar discussing the value of visual communication in presentations.
More from Edward Tufte
All quotes →I have stared long enough at the glowing flat rectangles of computer screens. Let us give more time for doing things in the real world...plant a plant, walk the dogs, read a real book, go to the opera.
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There is no such thing as information overload, just bad design. If something is cluttered and/or confusing, fix your design.
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The minimum we should hope for with any display technology is that it should do no harm.
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PowerPoint is like being trapped in the style of early Egyptian flatland cartoons rather than using the more effective tools of Renaissance visual representation.
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If you’re told what to look for, you can’t see anything else.
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