What is said determines who listens and who understands. Graphic design is a language, but graphic designers are so busy worrying about the nuances - accents, punctuation and so on - that they spend little time thinking about what the words add up to. I’m interested in using our communication skills to change the way things are.

Tibor Kalman

Categorized in : Thinking Skills Communication

When you make something no one hates, no one loves it.

Tibor Kalman

graphic-design design hate

I am interested in imperfections, quirkiness, insanity, unpredictability. That's what we really pay attention to anyway. We don't talk about planes flying; we talk about them crashing.

Tibor Kalman

imperfection flying insanity

Design is just language and the real issue is what you use that language to do.

Tibor Kalman

issues design real

The difference between good design and great design is INTELLIGENCE

Tibor Kalman

great-design design differences

I'm always trying to turn things upside down and see if they look any better.

Tibor Kalman

always-trying down-and looks

You'll never go wrong when you work with someone smarter than you.

Tibor Kalman

smarter

No matter what your cultural sophistication or what language you speak, everyone can understand images.

Tibor Kalman

language speak matter

The perfect state of creative bliss is having power (you are 50) and knowing nothing (you are 9). This assures an interesting and successful outcome.

Tibor Kalman

knowing-nothing successful perfect

If you don't have an idea, all you have is style.

Tibor Kalman

style ifs ideas

I'm not as good a writer as I'd like to be; therefore, I like to use images to tell stories.

Tibor Kalman

use stories

Good designers are no longer satisfied in taking the manuscript from someone and making it look nice. One of the things that I've tried to do is move from being a designer to a content provider.

Tibor Kalman

nice looks moving

Pictures are so good at giving people information that they're not looking for.

Tibor Kalman

information giving people

Think like an artist. Dress like an insurance salesman.

Tibor Kalman

artist dresses thinking

If someone is going to permit me to make a publication that is politically and culturally progressive and not tell me to put their favorite movie stars on the cover, if I get to do what I want in an honest way - as I did in the beginning at 'Colors' - then I'm going to do it.

Tibor Kalman

color stars want

Your children will smash your understanding, knowledge and reality. You will be better off. Then they will leave. You'll miss them forever.

Tibor Kalman

understanding-knowledge children reality

I'm not against beauty, it just sounds boring to me.

Tibor Kalman

boring sound

Perspective is a moment in time that cannot be fully appreciated until that moment has passed.

Tibor Kalman

perspective appreciated moments

Consumer culture is contradiction in terms

Tibor Kalman

contradiction term culture

We don't talk about planes flying. We talk about them crashing.

Tibor Kalman

unpredictability planes flying

To me, nothing is more vibrant than having the power to do something but not having the experience of knowing what's right and what's wrong.

Tibor Kalman

knowing