--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can never let your data dictate…" description: "\"You can never let your data dictate design. If you do, you end up following what people currently do and never innovating.\" — Aza Raskin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/aza-raskin-40787_data_you-can-never-let-your-data-dictate-desi_650739.png" --- # You can never let your data dictate design. If you do, you… ![“You can never let your data dictate design. If you do, you end up following what people currently do and never innovating.” quote by Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/aza-raskin-40787_data_you-can-never-let-your-data-dictate-desi_650739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/aza-raskin-40787_data_you-can-never-let-your-data-dictate-desi_650739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/aza-raskin-40787_data_you-can-never-let-your-data-dictate-desi_650739.png) > “You can never let your data dictate design. If you do, you end up following what people currently do and never innovating.” [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design should lead data, not be constrained by it; data informs but does not dictate creative direction. **In simple terms:** Design guides data, not the reverse. Key Takeaway Prioritize vision over trends. Themes design innovation creativity Mood thoughtful inspired Type analytical visionary When to use this quote - product development - branding - UX research - strategy sessions Key Concepts human‑centered design data literacy Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance data insights with intuitive design? - When might data hinder breakthrough ideas? A Different Perspective Data can be misleading if over‑relied upon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [It’s always going to be easy to live like others or other’s life, because creating or innovating something of own is always difficult in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/it-s-always-going-to-be-easy-to-live-like-others-or-other-s-life/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [Stop advertising and start innovating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/stop-advertising-and-start-innovating/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [In the same way that you're driven in your business to keep innovating - Facebook is a wonderful example of constant innovation - think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-omidyar/in-the-same-way-that-you-re-driven-in-your-business-to-keep/) [Pierre Omidyar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-omidyar/) > [If everything you do works, then you're not taking many risks and probably aren't innovating either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-buchheit/if-everything-you-do-works-then-you-re-not-taking-many-risks-and/) [Paul Buchheit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-buchheit/) > [I think there's a really fine line between innovating and being gimmicky, and we're trying to stay on the proper side of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-luck/i-think-there-s-a-really-fine-line-between-innovating-and-being/) [Oliver Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-luck/) > [You risk becoming a parody of yourself by not innovating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-olbermann/you-risk-becoming-a-parody-of-yourself-by-not-innovating/) [Keith Olbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-olbermann/) > [If you step back and take a holistic look, I think any reasonable person would say Android is innovating at a pretty fast pace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sundar-pichai/if-you-step-back-and-take-a-holistic-look-i-think-any-reasonable/) [Sundar Pichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sundar-pichai/) > [If you aren't making any mistakes, you aren't innovating. If you're making the same mistakes, you aren't learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/if-you-aren-t-making-any-mistakes-you-aren-t-innovating-if-you-re/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Innovating Women is more important today than ever. Things are changing for the better. The recent announcements by Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Facebook of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-wadhwa/innovating-women-is-more-important-today-than-ever-things-are/) [Vivek Wadhwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-wadhwa/) > [Innovating today is about creativity; it is about the freedom to act... if you look at the big conglomerate... it's highly regulated. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-kaeser/innovating-today-is-about-creativity-it-is-about-the-freedom-to-act/) [Joe Kaeser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-kaeser/) > [You should be innovating so fast that you're invalidating your prior patents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/you-should-be-innovating-so-fast-that-you-re-invalidating-your-prior/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [“If you are doing best practices, you are not innovating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-levy/if-you-are-doing-best-practices-you-are-not-innovating/) Jaime Levy > [From an app point of view, if you looked at innovation on the PC, you'd be hard pressed to find companies innovating. The list…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/from-an-app-point-of-view-if-you-looked-at-innovation-on-the-pc-you-d/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [One possibility for difficulties innovating is that most people really donÕt care about innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/one-possibility-for-difficulties-innovating-is-that-most-people/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [“Your comfort zone is what keeps you back from making, creating and innovating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-tomlin/your-comfort-zone-is-what-keeps-you-back-from-making-creating-and/) Greta Tomlin ## More by Aza Raskin > [Every time you make the user make a decision they don’t care about, you have failed as a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/every-time-you-make-the-user-make-a-decision-they-don-t-care-about/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [Your first try will be wrong. Budget and design for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/your-first-try-will-be-wrong-budget-and-design-for-it/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [Never use a warning when you mean undo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/never-use-a-warning-when-you-mean-undo/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [To the user, the interface is the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/to-the-user-the-interface-is-the-product/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [When I'm hiring, I don't look for credentials, I look for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/when-i-m-hiring-i-don-t-look-for-credentials-i-look-for-knowledge/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [Find a faster way to fail, recover, and try again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/find-a-faster-way-to-fail-recover-and-try-again/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [When you are solving a difficult problem re-ask the problem so that your solution helps you learn faster. Find a faster way to fail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/when-you-are-solving-a-difficult-problem-re-ask-the-problem-so-that/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [Design is the beauty of turning constraints into advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/design-is-the-beauty-of-turning-constraints-into-advantages/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [“The one secret to changing human behavior? Feedback Loops”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/the-one-secret-to-changing-human-behavior-feedback-loops/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) [Explore all 10 Aza Raskin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) ## More Data quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) Angela Llama-Butler > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/) SebastianMax > [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/) [REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) Ebbe Skovdahl > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) [Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can never let your data dictate design. 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