We’ve all heard them before. Those fabled design rules that have been used in everything from business to art, including: Good designers copy, great designers steal; Less Is More and Keep It Simple. These are just as appropriate for print design as they are for the web – which is what brought me to feature the latest book from Anneloes van Gallen titled, “Never Use White Type on a Black Background and 50 Other Ridiculous Design Rules”.
Find 51 design rules that are just as relevant but are just as ridiculous as the book sums up with its last rule of “Break the rules”. Whilst this book is aimed at designers, a lot of these rules can bring inspiration to your work whether it be with business or web design with each of the 51 famous and unknown sayings accompanied by an image that either supports or tears the rule apart.
Having read through the book, I have identified several examples where they apply not only to design but to other aspects of life and work, including one of my favourites, “Trust no-one. All clients are bastards. Eat more fish” and “Helvetica always works.”
If anything, this book represents an entertaining read with 51 unique and contrasting images to accompany each of the design rules. But if you want to know the secret to good design? Well, ultimately, rules in design are as ridiculous as the idea that design can follow rules.
Buy this book from Amazon today: