“Any time you see signs or labels added to a device, it is an indication of bad design: a simple lock should not require instructions.”

“If you can't read a simple goddam sign and follow one simple goddam instruction then get your fat butt the hell out of here.”

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a completely ad hoc plot device.”

“Forgiveness requires a sense that bad behaviour is a sign of suffering rather than malice.”

“You have a pet theory, one you have been turning over for years, that life itself is a kind of Rube Goldberg device, an extremely complicated machine designed to carry out the extremely simple task of constructing your soul.”

“Learning to design is, first of all, learning to see. Designers see more, and more precisely. This is a blessing and a curse — once we have learned to see design, both good and bad, we cannot un-see. The downside is that the more you learn to see, the more you lose your ‘common’ eye, the eye you design for. This can be frustrating for us designers when we work for a customer with a bad eye and strong opinions. But this is no justification for designer arrogance or eye-rolling. Part of our job is to make the invisible visible, to clearly express what we see, feel and do. You can‘t expect to sell what you can’t explain.”