Canon
"There are rules."
Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski
A design canon is a set of fundamental principles that guide design practice, representing an established body of authoritative knowledge. Design canons function as both repositories of design wisdom and dynamic frameworks that continue to influence how designers think, create, and evaluate their work.
01
People are people, not just users or resources
02
Experiences are created, not assembled
03
Use best practices, but not as an excuse
04
Kenny Rogers knows a lot about design
05
Deliver software, not artifacts
06
Making things easy is hard
07
Technology is only as efficient as the process it's replacing
08
Software is never "done"
09
People always know exactly what they want, but rarely before you show it to them
10
Directions, not directives
11
Continuity over consistency
12
The most important design tool is your ears
13
Minimum viable product is not minimum viable effort