11. Constraints Are Friends
Michelangelo’s David, carved from an “abandoned” block of marbleiStockphoto
Form is liberating.
ARTISTS’ APHORISM
I need four walls around me, to hold my life, and keep me from going astray.
JAMES TAYLOR, “BARTENDER’S BLUES”
A general-purpose product is harder to design well than a special-purpose one.
Constraints
Constraints may be burdens, but they also may be friends. Constraints shrink the designer’s search space. By so doing, they focus and speed design. Many of us disliked “Write an essay on whatever you want” assignments in junior high, and we were on to something real: removing all constraints makes the task ...
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