The Fund for Santa Barbara



Resources

Thoughts On Design

“Develop an infallible technique and then place yourself at the mercy of inspiration.” – Zen Maxim

“It’s not rocket science. It’s social science–the science of understanding people’s needs and their unique relationship with art, literature, music, work, philosophy, community, technology, and psychology. The act of design is structuring and creating that balance.” – Clement Mok

“Without the aesthetic, design is either the humdrum repetition of familiar clichés, or the wild scramble for novelty. “Without the aesthetic, the computer is but a mindless speed machine, producing effects without substance, form without relevant content, or content without meaningful form.” – Paul Rand

“The works must be conceived with fire in the soul, but executed with clinical coolness.” – Joan Miro

“Problems are my friends.” – Milton Glaser

“It’s a blue collar job. It burns up ideas, and you just have to keep feeding it.” – Fred Woodward

“Your mind is like a tipi. Leave the entrance flap open so that fresh air can enter and clear out the smoke of confusion.” – Chief Eagle, Teton Sioux

“ A good solution in addition to being right, should have the potential for longevity. Yet I don’t think one can design for permanence. One designs for function, for usefulness, rightness, beauty. Permanence is up to god.” – Paul Rand

“The richest communication will be that which selects just the right combination of senses, allowing us to rely on our memories and imaginations.” – Wendy Richmond

“We are interpreters–not merely translators–between sender and receiver. What we say and how makes a difference. If we want to speak to people, we need to know their language. In order to design for understanding, we need to understand design.” – Erik Spiekermann

“Graphic design will save the world… Right after rock & roll does.” – David Carson

Thoughts On Sustainability

“Our economy and our society are defined by the designs we choose to implement.” – David Wann

“What is the use of a house, if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on.” – Henry David Thoreau
“The most dangerous threat to our global environment may not be strategic threats themselves but rather our perception of them, for most people do not yet accept the fact that this crisis is extremely grave.” – Al Gore

“In a way, nobody sees a flower really. It is so small, we haven’t the time – and to see it takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” – Georgia O’Keefe

“A society that can develop the one-handed squeeze tube must have the power to scale down while sustaining dignified and decent ways of life. It would not be easy – it would be as hard as anything we’ve done. But not impossible." – Bill McKibben

“The wonder is that we can see these tress and not wonder more." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Saving the planet has never been an issue of money, but rather a matter of resourcefulness and motivation of individuals.” – Spencer Beebe

“What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything.” – Vincent van Gogh

“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere, and the circumference nowhere.”
– Blaise Pascal

“Humanity seeks self-sufficiency, while nature demands relationship. Humanity wants to be invulnerable, but nature reminds it that it is bonded to all other things.” – Jeremy Rifkin

“We have to do our part to raise awareness about global warming and the problems we as people face in promoting a sustainable environmental future for our planet.” – Leonardo DiCaprio

“We are encouraged to be a disposable society buy the way we count. The more you throw things away and buy new things instead of having them repaired, the richer society appears.” – Charles Handy

“I am two with nature.” – Woody Allen