10 design legends offer words of wisdom

Good design can bolster your spirits in so many ways, making your life more comfortable, more productive, and certainly more beautiful. And when you’re looking for inspiration, many of the iconic talents behind your favorite pieces can offer uplifting life lessons. Enjoy a few moments of diversion in the form of 10 insightful sentiments from some of the greatest designers the world has known.

 

Josef Frank on Being Human
“Every human needs a certain degree of sentimentality to feel free.” 

Images courtesy of Svenskt Tenn and Garage

 

Angelo Mangiarotti on Being Happy
“Happiness comes from honesty.” 

Images courtesy of Studio Mangiarotti and The Mark

 

Gae Aulenti on Persevering
“When you’re criticized… wait two or three years and see.” 

Images courtesy of G A Architetti Associati and Goldwood

 

Gio Ponti on Progress
“Everything is going from the heavy to the light, from the gross to the subtle, from the opaque to the transparent, from the dark to the light, from the colorless to the colorful... Anyone going in the opposite direction is in error.” 

Images courtesy of Gio Ponti Archives and Jacksons

 

Dieter Rams on Being Mindful
“We cannot afford any more thoughtlessness.” 

Images courtesy of Vitsoe and Moebel-Perdu

 

Charles Eames on Interdependence
“Eventually everything connects—people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.” 

Images courtesy of Eames Office and Zorrobot

 

Poul Henningsen on Doing the Work
“The future comes by itself; progress does not.”  

Images courtesy of Louis Poulsen and Studio Schalling

 

 Philippe Starck on Being Engaged
“No one is obliged to be a genius, but everyone is obliged to participate.” 

Images courtesy of Starck and Kartell

 

Marc Newson on Being Yourself
“If you can just be yourself, then you have to be original—because there’s no one like you.” 

Images courtesy of Marc Newson Studio

 

Achille Castiglioni on Finding Enjoyment
“There has to be irony… I see around me a professional disease of taking everything too seriously. One of my secrets is to joke all the time.” 

Images courtesy of Alessi and Museo del Design