David Carson Quotes

#1. I think we've seen a lot of examples of giving a name its own definition in the dot-com world. Amazon, Google, Yahoo - these are names we never would have dreamed major corporations would choose.

David Carson

#2. Overall, people are reading less.

David Carson

#3. My background is sociology. Combined with my graphic approach, if I could do some film projects, I think I'd be very good at making documentaries eventually, but people don't think of me for that, of course. But dialogue is something I know I can be good at.

David Carson

#4. Never mistake legibility for communication.

David Carson

#5. Dont confuse legibility with communication. Just because something is legible doesnt mean it communicates and, more importantly, doesnt mean it communicates the right thing.

David Carson

#6. Some people hate lime-green; red has all this emotional baggage. Blue seems to be overall one of the more positive colors, and a little more serious than yellow.

David Carson

#7. The station was tight, aggressive ... the deejays at times sounding as if they were broadcasting at gunpoint.

David Carson

#8. As we get more technically driven, the importance of people becomes more than it's ever been before. You have to utilize who you are in your work. Nobody else can do that: nobody else can pull from your background, from your parents, your upbringing, your whole life experience.

David Carson

#9. If I'm doing a logo, I'll do it in black and white. Once the form is feeling right, only then do I start exploring the color palettes. A good example was the process of rebranding the Salvador Dali Museum. I did at least 100 versions in black and white.

David Carson

#10. I did an early version of my site where it was virtually impossible to get through it, just as a statement about the web. But after a few laughs and some angry e-mails, I realized it wasn't doing me much good. I think the web has become more about the final product, not what it takes to get to it.

David Carson

#11. For some reason I have a visual intuition that allows me to design things in an interesting way, and I don't know where that came from. Because I don't have this formal training, I seem to drift in a different direction.

David Carson

#12. Just because something is legible doesn't mean it communicates.

David Carson

#13. You'll see everything from gold teeth to hood ornaments. It's almost like Halloween during August.

David Carson

#14. If you have no intuitive sense of design, then call yourself an "information architect" and only use Helvetica.

David Carson

#15. The dreaded phrase in design circles is 'show and tell.'

David Carson

#16. Invite the reader to participate by deciphering. Chaos can attract and engage.

David Carson

#17. Just because something's legible doesn't means it communicates. More importantly, it doesn't mean it communicates the right thing. So, what is the message sent before somebody actually gets into the material? And I think that's sometimes an overlooked area.

David Carson

#18. Good things are associated with blue, like clear days, more than singing the blues. Just the word 'blue' in the singular is full of optimism and positive connotation to most people.

David Carson

#19. I'm a big believer in the emotion of design, and the message that's sent before somebody begins to read, before they get the rest of the information; what is the emotional response they get to the product, to the story, to the painting - whatever it is.

David Carson

#20. My site is a little unorthodox without being totally inaccessible.

David Carson

#21. Graphic design will save the world right after rock and roll does.

David Carson

#22. It's not about knowing all the gimmicks and photo tricks. If you haven't got the eye, no program will give it to you.

David Carson

#23. I'm experimenting in public. At the design grad schools, these are people sitting around in groups, putting their work on a wall, analyzing it and putting it back in a drawer. I think there's little risk in that.

David Carson