20 Graphic Design Quotes to Ignite Your Creative Spirit

Looking for an inspirational quote about graphic design? Look no further than these famous design quotes by iconic creatives!

Steve Jobs famously said that design isn’t just what something looks and feels like, but also how it works. This quote about design perfectly captures the complexity of good design and how challenging and fascinating a designer’s job can be!So to help you find design inspiration and the motivation, we’ve compiled a list of inspirational quotes from famous graphic designers!

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Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser was a New York designer, whose design work includes the famous I love New York logo, as well as the psychedelic album covers for artists like Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin.

The “wow” response to a piece of design that Glaser mentions mean that a good designer should always try to go above and beyond the brief, and delight their clients instead of a simple approval.

Paula Scher

Paula Scher also has a rich experience as an educator; she has taught in the School of Visual Arts (SVA) since 1992. It’s no surprise then, her famous graphic design quote is related to learning from your mistakes. “You have to get bad in order to get good” applies to virtually any skill, so it’s a welcome reminder for newbie designers.

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Paul Rand

This famous art director is best known for corporate design, including some of the iconic corporate logo designs including IBM, UPS and ABC.

It’s no surprise then, that some of his most famous graphic design quotes relate to the art of simplicity. Simplicity is one of the key principles of good design, and the simplest and best design work is a product of hard work. It’s similar to what Antoine de Saint Exupéry, the famous French writer said, the perfect design is achieved when there is nothing left to take away!

Massimo Vignelli

This famous designer completed a huge range of different projects, from kitchenware to the New York City subway map.

Although he was a follower of the modernist school and developed many designs that were both visually appealing and practical, this famous quote is a nice reminder that beauty in design is important. An aesthetic appeal alone is not enough, but if you can make something look better, it’s your obligation as a designer to do so!

Saul Bass

The creator of numerous iconic Hollywood movie posters and an Oscar-winner himself, this graphic design legend is known for another inspiring quote on the topic of beauty.

Professional designers sometimes lose track of aesthetic considerations in the name of functionality, so try to remember that the way something looks is equally as important as how it works or what kind of message it delivers. 

Charles Eames

Charles Eames is an American designer who worked closely with his wife Bernice Alexandra “Ray” Kaiser Eames in the field of industrial design, developing contemporary architecture and furniture design.

This is one of the best quotes about design that sums up the relationship between a client and a great graphic designer. Before you even start developing your own ideas, you must fully understand your client and their needs.

David Carson

Art director and surfer, David Carson is also the “rule-breaker” in the world of graphic design, and the pioneer of grunge typography that you can see on so many posters and magazine covers.

Unsurprisingly, this cool quote about design is his. Rock and roll became so widely popular because it tapped into the universal human experience: being young, angry, in love, etc. Carson is saying that great design has the potential to do the same, to unite people through their common experiences in a visual way.  

Frank Chimero

Chimero is just 35 years old and has already had a list of impressive clients including Microsoft, Facebook and Starbucks. 

But his graphic design quote about making other designers feel like idiots isn’t really about being unnecessarily smug. It refers to the simplicity of good design. Creating a piece of design that’s both effective and simple is the real challenge; and that will make other designers feel like idiots for not seeing what was right in front of them.

Good design is simple, also since it's closely interlinked with human psychology and perception. You can read more about it in our article about gestalt principles of design.

Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd is a designer that specializes in book cover art, and he has designed some awe-inspiring book covers for both classics and new writing.

This quote about graphic design is yet another reminder that research and understanding your clients’ needs are often half the job done.

Bob Gill

Bob Gill is a famous illustrator, graphic designer, educator, filmmaker and co-founder of Pentagram. He has over 50 years of experience in the industry and many notable design projects.

This quote is perhaps the most useful and applicable one to anyone working as a professional graphic designer. Good communication is one of the key skills for graphic designers, whether this means guiding your clients to give you a better design brief, or getting them to see why a certain piece of design works.

Joe Sparano

There are a great number of memorable quotes about graphic design that tackle the essence of what design is. But I think few manage to put it in such a tangible context as Joe Sparano does. The absence of content makes design decorative rather than purposeful. 

Stefan Sagmeister

This Austrian designer is known for his experimental and edgy designs, notably for many famous album covers. 

Design is art with a certain agenda, but that doesn’t mean that the art experience is any less powerful. Sagmeister said it better than anyone, when he compared the experience of standing in front of a Rembrandt to standing in front of a piece of graphic design. Great design can be an equally reflective and transformative experience. 

Petrula Vrontikis

Petrula Vrontikis is the creative director of Vrontikis Design in Los Angeles and a senior lecturer at Art Center College of Design.

‍Safe design in this case doesn’t refer to unoriginal, boring design. Instead, it helps to remind us that it’s much easier to produce good work when you have a concept and plan in mind.

Michael Bierut

Beirut is a believer in the democratization of design, which is making design digestible and accessible to an ordinary viewer. 

The democratization of design also requires designers to be versatile and adaptable. This is an important lesson that can translate to anything from following design trends to extensive research of your clients’ niche!  

Neville Brody

This English designer, typographer and art director is best known for his work in magazines The Face and Arena, and several famous album covers.

His famous quote on digital design is a wonderful depiction of the changing nature of this type of design.

Jeffrey Zeldman

Since we’re on the topic, it’s only fair to quote a famous web designer like Jeffrey Zeldman.

Instead of worrying about people stealing your great ideas, just get on with the good work. And if it looks like no one is interested in what you’re doing, perhaps it’s time to change things!

Marian Bantjes

When you have a style that’s as unique and personal as Marian Bantjes’, you have to appreciate the value of personality in outstanding design. Ultimately, while the designer works for the client they also work with the client. Take ownership of your design projects as something you want to see succeed, and the results just might turn out to be amazing!

Lindon Leader

If you don’t recognize the name, then you’ll certainly recognize one of the most famous and most intelligent logo designs that Lindon Leader created: the FedEx logo.

FedEx logo ticks many boxes: color, typography, use of negative space, memorability… So it’s only logical that the graphic designer quote from the creative mind who came up with it, tackles the two paramount principles of design. Clarity and simplicity, honestly you can never stress it enough!

Adam Judge

Design always makes a difference. There’s only one alternative to good design, and it’s bad design. A poorly designed logo will harm your brand image. A bad landing page will decrease your conversion rates. Sloppy social media graphics will drag down engagement and affect your campaigns. 

 If you want to know why graphic design is important for any business, check out this article.

Robert L. Peters

This is definitely the perfect graphic designer quote to finish off our list. 

What does Peters mean by “design creates culture”? Well, what we may consider a design trend at present, might become a definitive shift in our culture; in the way we view and understand things visually (e.g. using the heart symbol instead of the word “love”).

And since culture shapes values, working as a designer can truly mean determining the future of visual communication!