Forget All The Rules About Graphic Design
In 1954 Bob Gill developed a design the he would later call more pleasing “than any other design job [he] had done up until that time…”
What pleased Gill so much was the Title Card for CBS sitcom Private Secretary, “because the result looks so inevitable and easy.”
He was 23 when he received this job and it served as the moment his career went into overdrive. Not only did it win him his (first) ADC medal and saw his name grow to demand more respect (he would joke it was the year that he finally got an answering service for his office), but it taught him something monumental.
Private Secretary was special because it helped him realise that a design can only be taken so far by an aesthetically driven solution.
“I stopped trying to ram my aesthetic prejudices down their throats. Why should clients have my tastes? … I talked to them about solutions and ideas instead of design.”
It is because of this attitude towards “inevitable” solutions that Gill’s clients thought so fondly of him. He was giving them tailored work that was concept driven and so well considered that he was able to effectively describe them over the phone.
He started to consider what the solution should be first, worrying about appearance second.
Not long after Private Secretary he began teaching at the School of Visual Arts, where he would encourage students to talk “about their solutions before they put them on the wall … Students began thinking of original ideas, rather than trying to impress [the class and Gill] with the latest graphic tricks.”
Gill’s 1981 Forget all the rules about graphic design. Including the ones in this book seats us comfortably in that classroom.
A marvelous classroom
Not only a documentary of a few good ideas about design, Forget all the rules … also gives us a sneak peek at the mindset Gill employed throughout his impressive career.
Our tour is guided through the rich logic that helped propel Gill to great heights and garner respect from his peers, clients and readers of design history. A logic that is lacking for many designers. A logic essential should one wish to do original work. A logic we are privileged to see wielded by a master.
A logic easy to talk of, implement and use to deliver powerful results:
If the problem a client gives us isn’t worth solving, then redefine it so it is.
Redefine problems so they are worth solving
Typographic tastes sweeten and sour over the years, considered fundamental and benign is illustration and photography from one decade to the next, and moving from redundant to intoxicating is how style shifts year to year. But there is one element of design that never, ever fails to tingle senses and delight minds – the good idea.
That is what can be found in this book before anything else – a clever solution that springs from the problem will always stay fresh.
A clever solution doesn’t need to use the crutches that style and empty aesthetic provide. Private Secretary is a great example – the typeface is as appropriate as can be, the concept has a legitimate source and it is visually perfect — you aren’t distracted from the problem plagued text of the secretary. The spice is added because it’s witty and has personality.
Make the problem interesting and you’ll be planting the seed of a good solution in habitable soil. The plant that bursts through the earth will grow far higher than one planted in uninspiring dirt.
Lessons Worth Learning
While a few images are scattered throughout this article to illustrate the (worthy of aspiration) genius of Bob Gill, I wanted to offer a little more.
Introducing each chapter are a few short paragraphs explaining the philosophy behind each collection that follows. These introductions show us varying lenses under which the original problems can be placed so that we might see something different when redefining them.
Obviously I can’t cover everything Gill does without running a blade over moral issues concerning plagiarism. Without going into great depth, I thought I would do what all of us do when we read such advice – put our own spin on it and apply it to concepts we already have. What follows are my interpretations of Gill’s ideas.
The problem is the problem.
Our creative expressions are the culmination of all those we’ve witnessed. Sometimes we rely on this too heavily rather than finding ideas within the client’s problem and content. We echo ideas of ideas of ideas of ideas.
To truly design something new we need to throw away our creative and stylistic laurel-resting ideals, forgetting about the solutions to other problems and instead focus on the one before us.
But what is often the case with problems is that they’re, well, problematic. A client will come to us with an idea they have and think all they need is an answer they’ve half-provided visualized.
Unfortunately it is common for the client to present us with the wrong problem to solve. They don’t phrase the question right. Perhaps they’re too close to it (forests, trees and all that), perhaps they’re not bright enough or they’re too smart, perhaps they don’t even have a problem.
So before we can find a beautiful, new, unique solution that’s buried in the problem we are facing, we might need to rewrite it so there is opportunity to to pull from it something interesting.
Interesting words need boring graphics.
A stupid designer grows intoxicated on their own greatness and self-worth.
Gill gives an example I could not top so won’t try; “We cure cancer for free.”
There is one design solution for this. White background, big, black, heavy as a whale text, left aligned. Want to go out on a limb? Center it (but don’t).
Think first. Then draw.
Research, research, research, research, research.
Then think visually – draw and sketch, draw and sketch and write and draw and sketch and write and draw. Pages of thumbnails. Pages of notes. Pages of research. Pages and pages and pages written and drawn until your wrists ignite.
With all these marks, why not try different things? Use different pens and pencils and crayons and brushes and markers. Different colours, widths, textures, sizes. We don’t think monotonously, so why draw like we do?
Then, after it’s formed in your mind, and you’ve put those thoughts onto paper, boot up the Mac.
Jump into the digital too quickly and we will start to produce work that feels like it belongs to the digital world. We’ll do what we’re comfortable doing and seeing, what we’ve seen come from the box of light a million times. Even worse, we might just rely on the trickery digital tools of design often encourage.
Stealing is good.
Should you find yourself in the situation where you are using the artwork of another—be they a photographer, illustrator or typographer—it is your honorable duty to respect their work.
Much like the designer who should shut-up in the second point above, Interesting words need boring graphics, interesting artwork needs boring design.
If you’ve found imagery or a typeface that ignites a fire in your soul, then it demands of you to allow it to do so unto others. Just let it sit there with no distraction, waiting quietly for its prey.
If you’re going to steal the beauty of another image, then don’t drop it while hauling it into your van.
Boring words need interesting graphics.
Most people suck at writing copy for advertising and marketing. Including advertisers and marketers.
If you have to deal with the usual dribble, then chances are your design will need to pick up the weight – but again, the foolish designer will race ahead as giddy as a gerbil! Just because the words are boring does not mean that they should be hidden behind your design.
The boring words still need to be read, that’s why your design exists. With boring words, it is up to us to strike up the balance in which the design brings attention and lends interest to the dull words, while not getting in their way.
Less is more.
Much power can be pulled from a design when it quietly and gently pulls together two opposing elements and has them sing the same tune. Aim to say more with less.
I could have written more, but….
More is more.
A sentiment I first stumbled over in Paul Arden’s fantastic It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be – if you’re going to make something big, make it REALLY big.
If you want the headings to be much bigger than the body copy, then make them 10 times bigger, if you want your website to be bright and colourful, make it overly bright and sickeningly colourful. If you want your photo to be funny, make sure it’s hilariously funny. Don’t settle for elegant typography, aim for royal-family wedding typography.
The point is that a little different isn’t often noticeable – things don’t often hit extremes in real life, but in the world where we are the makers, why not push things to the edge blow them the hell up?
“I was only following orders.”
If the job passed by your desk, it’s your fault it’s ugly. The client only makes suggestions, you have every right to tell them their suggestion isn’t a good one, explaining to them why and offering a suitable alternative.
“The client made me do it” doesn’t mean anything when the job is finished and in the hands of the public.
Change the original problem so what they hold isn’t embarrassing.
One of the most important books on design
While other books might be more valuable in many regards (Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style and Meggs’ History of Graphic Design for example), the unavoidable take-away Gill gives us stands alone:
Original and interesting solutions grown from the client’s problem are what make graphic design move from appropriate to good.
The body of a good idea won’t be completely obscured by the clothing of aesthetics that we drape over it. While the clothes may need to be appealing for the idea to be noticed in the first place, the body will still be beautiful even when the clothing becomes tacky as the sands of time are sprinkled over them. Good ideas last.
It’s evident with the work scattered throughout this article. I know there are some readers who would have closed this article upon realising the artwork is, most likely, older than they are. I understand why this would turn them off, even if I don’t think it’s a good attitude to have.
But if you spent a moment to see the beauty of the idea that is hidden below the (conceivably) tacky clothing, you’ll see the true value of the design. The benefit of which is more than just timeless design.
A good idea shines through stylistic preferences the audience may hold.
If the design you produce relies on visuals to appeal to the audience alone, then, by default, you are unappealing to a large proportion. But if a good idea, one born from the problem, is the body of your design, then people won’t need to rely on aesthetics to find interest and consider the design and message worth remembering.
While the edition of Forget all the rules about graphic design. Including the ones in this book. that we looked at today is no longer current, it can still be quite easily found and is absolutely worth the (very little) cost. The original hardcover (with a slightly different name) can be found on Amazon and AbeBooks, as well as the softcover version, also on Amazon and AbeBooks.
In 2006 it was re-released in a smaller format and has some updates done throughout (design and some of the pieces included) – Unspecial Effects for Graphic Designers.
Alex,
I’ve heard of Bob Gill before but never in this much detail. This was a really amazing post, just what I needed to spark a little motivation to get working after a long week. Thank you for the links to the books.
Keep it up,
Kyle.
Wonderful, as always.
I loved the section on “The problem is the problem.”
“Our creative expressions are the culmination of all those we’ve witnessed. Sometimes we rely on this too heavily rather than finding ideas within the client’s problem and content. We echo ideas of ideas of ideas of ideas.”
It is so true that sometimes we as designers can just throw our typical nice aesthetic solution on something and call it good without examining the real problem. Over obsession with what has been done (and even worse, what is current or trendy now) can be the death of good design.
Also… “interesting words need boring graphics.”
You have inspired me to buy this book. Thanks again for an insightful post!
“Interesting words need boring graphic” and “boring words need intersting graphics” are both important points. It is the job of a graphic designer to get their clients message across, not to impress with their design. If the words are the most important thing the designer must make sure he/she doesn’t detract from this, whereas there are other times when an attractive design is more important.
Alex:
This is quite a bite of an article to chew on. It is a great analysis of Mr. Gill’s book and has inspired me to buy.
One can never harp enough on thinking and research before drawing, or drawing before the computer. This truly is a sound answer for generating a good idea.
There is a great book (more like a short essay) that I believe would complement some of the ideals presented here. It is called “A Technique for Producing Ideas” by James Young. It is a light read, but touches on a great process that most designers (should) use.
I look forward to your next post.
Kyle Gallant
You’re very welcome Kyle :)
Gill is one of those designers who I knew was considered important and pioneering, but I realised I didn’t know enough about the man, so this was a good chance to fix that. Glad you’re in the same boat ;)
Marty
Thank-you Marty :)
It’s understandable why designers often do this though, isn’t it? It is easier and at the end of the day, you do have something beautiful. The problem is that it isn’t so much design as much as it is clever tempting, huh?
The book is a fantastic read – with Christmas coming up, I’m hoping to get his others!
Christopher Gunn
Thanks for letting us know about the James Young book, will look it up!
I know personally, I’ve found forcing my self to avoid the computer as much as I can in the early stages seems to really help an original idea spring forth. It also makes the whole process a lot more fun, exciting and interesting – we have these fancy fingers and thumbs, we might as well use them for more than clicking buttons ;)
“Solutions first, appearance second” should be a moral code that all graphic designers should live by. We have happier clients that way.
Thank you for a truly inspiring article. Bob Gill has clearly defined the beauty of graphic design at its best. I’m glad to have stumbled upon your website and look forward to being a regular visitor!
Janee
Hi Janee,
Thanks for stopping past and giving the site a read. Gill was one of those designers that I wish I’d known about from day one, but his lessons are never too late to take!
“Interesting words need boring graphics” is the same sentiment put forward by Beatrice Ward in “The Crystal Goblet.” This was published in 1955, a year after Bob Gill’s break at 23, so he was well ahead of his time.
Was he any relation of Eric Gill?
I’m in the early stages of a new design for a European DJ’s website, and I found this article most engaging. Redefine the problem – of course! Forget all the other solutions to similar problems – yes! I’m logging off now, going to go for a walk, buy some brushes and crayons, and draw and draw and draw.
Thanks
Well here’s another book I need to read. “Interesting words need boring graphics” is an idea I hadn’t thought of before. I thought every word should look interesting. This idea falls under the content first category. Unfortunately I think a lot of the words out there are uninteresting.
Thanks for posting this. You’ve got another follower in me.
Excellent article… only wanted to point that you’ve got a typo, its probably supposed to say “it’s your fault it’s ugly” instead of ” it’s you’re fault it’s ugly” in the beggining of the “I was following orders” section.
good read .
What a phenomenal read! There are some excellent ideas to be taken away from this, I’m not quite inspired for the day!
Thanks so much, Alex!
One of the finest articles I’ve read this year. Thank you.
“… why not try different things? Use different pens and pencils and crayons and brushes and markers. Different colours, widths, textures, sizes. ….”
answer: because i draw on screen not on canvas, so the computer is my tool of choice.
“…Then… boot up the Mac.”
answer: why not try different things?
Much respect to Mr.Gill, anyway.
A.G.R.E.E.D.
Wow, what an amazing article! This is exactly the kind of read I needed in order to look at design in a different way. It’s a common problem for anyone to feel stagnant in their field, and taking a step outside your box and being able to look at things from a different perspective always helps! Thanks!
Sooooo. Instead of poking at the book getting used. How about offering an example of his methods getting used in today’s current webdesign.
It’s something I always found perplexing from both of his books. While great for posters Web is a bit different that regards. Not entirely just different enough.
The whole “interaction” bit for example.
Ya’ll should still buy the book, it’s a slap in the face from what you have studied thusfar.
Alasdair
Oh GREAT connection Alasdair! I’ve recently read (and wrote about) the Crystal Goblet – it’s one of my favourite and most resonating essays i’ve ever read on graphic design – and the connection to Gill’s break didn’t even click in my mind, I appreciate the comment.
Don’t know about any relation, I would some what doubt it, but who knows? (I haven’t got Meggs’ next to me to try and figure it out).
I hope the drawing went well and the site came together :)
Courtney Kirchoff
You’re right in that a lot of words are pretty uninteresting, which is a real shame that so many people are so desperate to put them out in front of people. I know it’s impractical to expect that all words could hold some sort of interest beyond that which stems from a utilitarian purpose, but still, it’d be nice, wouldn’t it? Ikea make their “how to put it together” manuals interesting of all things!
It’s a great book and I’d highly suggest you grab a copy wherever you can!
Bruno
Excellent, thanks greatly for catching my silly mistake :)
Russel Bishop
I hope that’s meant to be “I’m now quite inspired”, otherwise I didn’t do very well with this article ;)
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Gill is a special kind of genius.
Jon Waring
You’re welcome :)
tripdragon
Hi Tripdragon.
I’m a little confused – you find it perplexing that a designer who practised most heavily throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s wrote a book that isn’t web based? And the reason I didn’t give examples of current webdesign is because I am not part of current web design and my interests lie, if I were to choose a medium of design, primarily in print.
I say if I had to choose a medium because most design principles are exactly that – principles. Ideas on how to solve problems, and in that Gill–as I’m sure you’re aware, as it seems you’ve read his books–is someone from whom a great deal can be gleamed. Showing examples is almost irrelevant, as they date quickly, where as the ideas do not. The reason I showed his work was because I wanted to celebrate his work and show how HE executed his ideas.
I’m not trying to be aggressive in my response (I’ll love it if you replied so we can open up this dialogue a little more), but what difference does medium make to most, if not all, of what we can learn from this book? When we focus on medium or tool or dogmatic process, we lose sight of what design really is.
Thanks for getting my brain ticking :)
ALEXANDER:
Eh, let’s see. As I was writing this I was a bit miffed that the book was pretty much taken and copied on the page even though you did cover that you did not want to create plagiarism. However it’s such a relic of a find nowadays I was not going to poke at that issue. Instead I was delighted that someone even bothered to cover/review the book in a sense.
So my new focus was web examples. True design is ever changing. But the same could be said of the reverse. I still see Bevel filters being used even from high quality sites like Borders books. Their in lies the [plagiarism X different take] that I was hoping would get covered. Design is ever looping.
I know i’m being a bit vague, I still don’t know what I want to see. But some type of Gills examples put to use in a today’s world webdesign would be an awesome experiment to really test the lessons of the book.
Ad agencies can still get away with “experience sites” using Flash and crazy designs. While normal down the street shops want “clean and simple”. So where do the Gill’s methods fit in with the latter?
I guess it’s like asking Picaso to use photoshop. Won’t happen, but MAN if he did and he went through the training of the app, what would he have created!!
I own 2 of Gills books. The one in the trashcan as the cover, and the updated smaller one with his likeness. I wanted the others but figured they were pretty much the same. I have a bunch of old old out of date books that kick the asses of some new books for type and contrast shape. So I am always curious of what they could create today.
It’s like.
Me: You want a horizontal menu row of links. Great. But can we try for something new and fresh? Like the pigeon array.
Client: No.. WTF is that?!
Me: Oh.. Blah clean boring normal it is then….
“if” I have not irked you too much, how about a short team colab on trying to re-illustrate Gills methods into an example site that could work for a client in today’s market? Or maybe I am thinking to much into this.
Ah! You touched on exactly the point of this article – it was to show what this book had to offer. I wanted the ideas to come through and do as little possible to get in their way, while not directly mimicking exactly what Gill wrote, which is why I mention and show the book so heavily, and when I give his headings, I wrote my own interpretation of them. If this was a book first released in the last few years I wouldn’t have done it, but the copy I had was the original and I’m yet to see the newer version to know how intact his ideas were.
I’m really not a web guy, which is why I didn’t cover modern examples of it. Heck, I’ve hardly payed much attention to contemporary design for some years, save for fleeting moments, so who am I to try and provide examples? One of the things that bug me most about online design writing is that much of it shows average examples and try to pour the thickest of quality over them. I want to avoid such things.
You’re absolutely right in that it would be interesting to see if any of his philosophy is being applied to webdesign, but again, I feel that they’re medium independent so would like to think that they absolutely are. More than that, I’d like to hope that they might have evolved with the audiences and technologies (a genuine evolution, not a forced one).
As for selling it to clients – well that’s up to us individually. If we can’t fully justify the reason why we want to do something (say, use your pigeon array) and how it’ll be of benefit to the client and their audience, then we shouldn’t be surprised when the client isn’t thrilled with the idea. The great thing about interaction and web design is that it forces us to view the theory and philosophy pertaining to design and art and communication far deeper. Contrast is now not just in size, tone, colour or whatever, it’s now in connected moments and experiences, isn’t it? That’s so super exciting.
Short term colab? My wife is about to have a baby, haven’t got much time for anything I’m afraid, but it’s a great idea!
Hey Alexander congrats on the newborn! Keep at the reviews while you can. Hit me up if you ever have that urge to colab in the far future.
Good day.
If my class is going to like my valentine cards that I made for them.
This is a great article, just gave me the inspiration for my next project.
Bob Gill’s book is probably the only design book I ever bought – I still use it today to remind me that design still exists!
Thank you for reminding me again!
I found this site this morning and WOW,
Inspiring articles and very beautiful design.
Thank You
unearthing ideas
GREAT ARTICLE. Each word, sentence, paragraph makes sense and is very inspiring. Thanks a lot.
I’m a bit late for the conversation, but I needed to read this. Thanks for sharing. I’m planning to check Gill’s book out!