Inspiration

Design is where science and art break even.

— Robin Mathew

Art is like masturbation. It is selfish and introverted and done for you and you alone. Design is like sex. There is someone else involved, their needs are just as important as your own, and if everything goes right, both parties are happy in the end.

— Colin Wright

It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.

— Steve Jobs

I never design a building before I’ve seen the site and met the people who will be using it.

— Frank Lloyd Wright

The design process, at its best, integrates the aspirations of art, science, and culture.

— Jeff Smith

Never use white text on a black background and 50 other ridiculous design rules

These are 51 Design rules that are stated in the book "Never use white text on a black background... and 50 other ridiculous design rules" I believe that these rules are all very important tools to the design process.

1) Good designers copy, Great designers steal
2) Make it Pretty
3) Fashion is made to become unfashionable
4) Design is thinking made visual
5) A camel is a horse designed by a committee
6) Never use more than two typefaces 
7) Style is not to be trusted
8) Good design solves the right problems
9) Design isn't art
10) Minimalism is dead
11) Never use copy and paste
12) Make it new
13) Never photograph people eating
14) Always make the top left-hand logo of a website a home button
15) K.I.S.S (keep it simple, stupid)
16) Don't over accessorise 
17) Use a grid
18) A picture is worth a thousand words
19) Never stretch a font
20) Practice makes perfect
21) Form follows function
22) The logo must be recognisable
23) If you don't know what to do.... just do it big and red 
24) It is better to be good than it is to be original
25) Fashion can be bought, style one must possess 
26) Helvetica always works
27) Cleavage or legs, never both
28) Good design communicates 
29) Dress to impress
30) Never work with animals or children 
31) Never use white type on a black backgrounds 
32) Make the Logo bigger
33) Leave it to the last minute 
34) God is n the detail
35) Think outside of the box
36) Kill your darlings
37) Never sacrifice style for comfort 
38) Design is evolutionary, turn mistakes and accidents into opportunities 
39) The medium is the message
40) The client is always right 
41) Shoes and bags must always match 
42) Turn it upside down
43) Trust no one, all clients are bastards. Eat more fish 
44) Less is more
45) Good design is for life
46) Know your audience 
47) If you're image does not work, put a dog in it. If it still does not work, put a bandage on the dog
48) Don't let bad design hurt great content
49) [insert buzzword] is the new back
50) Dress your age (not your dress or shoe size)
51) Break the rules


All these design rules have been taken from multiple designers and design consultancy. I feel they are all very useful and I recommend reading the book they were all derived from.