--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that you could design a terrible…" description: "\"I think that you could design a terrible logo for a good company with great people and they could build it into a great program. Alternatively you coul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/michael-bierut-10873_brilliant_i-think-that-you-could-design-a-terrible_2698572.png" --- # I think that you could design a terrible logo for a good… ![“I think that you could design a terrible logo for a good company with great people and they could build it into a great program. Alternatively you could design what seems to be a brilliant logo for people who are not smart or energetic or are incapable of associating with anything positive and it…” quote by Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/michael-bierut-10873_brilliant_i-think-that-you-could-design-a-terrible_2698572.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/michael-bierut-10873_brilliant_i-think-that-you-could-design-a-terrible_2698572.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/michael-bierut-10873_brilliant_i-think-that-you-could-design-a-terrible_2698572.png) > “I think that you could design a terrible logo for a good company with great people and they could build it into a great program. Alternatively you could design what seems to be a brilliant logo for people who are not smart or energetic or are incapable of associating with anything positive and it would become a terrible logo.” [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design quality depends more on the people and purpose behind a product than on its visual polish. **In simple terms:** Good people can turn a bad logo into success; bad people can ruin a good logo. Key Takeaway Focus on team and purpose, not just aesthetics. Themes design branding team dynamics product success Mood reflective critical insightful Type analytical observational When to use this quote - startup branding - corporate rebrand - product launch - marketing campaign Key Concepts human-centered design brand perception organizational culture Questions to Reflect On - How does team culture affect brand perception? - Can visual identity overcome poor product quality? A Different Perspective A great logo cannot compensate for a dysfunctional team. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Brilliant Logo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant-logo-2714548/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Energetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energetic/) [Good company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-company/) [Great people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-people/) [Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable/) [Logo Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logo-good-2714547/) [Logo People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logo-people-831214/) [Logos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logos/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Program](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/program/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Logo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-logo-2714549/) [Think Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-design-306534/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Ultimately a good logo is something that people recognize instantly and relate to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mickiewicz/ultimately-a-good-logo-is-something-that-people-recognize-instantly/) [Matt Mickiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mickiewicz/) > [A poor logo doesn't mean a business will fail, and a good logo doesn't mean it will succeed - it just helps. Ultimately a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mickiewicz/a-poor-logo-doesn-t-mean-a-business-will-fail-and-a-good-logo-doesn-t/) [Matt Mickiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mickiewicz/) > [A lot of times, you design a logo to be timeless, but with something like the Olympics, timelessness is maybe not something you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/a-lot-of-times-you-design-a-logo-to-be-timeless-but-with-something/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [If you ask people in the US what logos they like and recognise, they'll name Target or Nike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/if-you-ask-people-in-the-us-what-logos-they-like-and-recognise-they/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [I actually don't think that brand new logos are worth that much or mean that much in and of themselves. So why not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-actually-don-t-think-that-brand-new-logos-are-worth-that-much-or/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Everyone can have an opinion on a logo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/everyone-can-have-an-opinion-on-a-logo/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [The Nike swash that cost $30 and was designed by a Portland State University art student was probably worth that when she first showed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/the-nike-swash-that-cost-30-and-was-designed-by-a-portland-state/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [A lot of times, you design a logo to be timeless, but with something like the Olympics, timelessness is maybe not something you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/a-lot-of-times-you-design-a-logo-to-be-timeless-but-with-something-2/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Target for example, is just a dot with a circle around it, that's all it is, so if you want a logo like Target,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/target-for-example-is-just-a-dot-with-a-circle-around-it-that-s-all/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [The truth about logos is that they are not that hard to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/the-truth-about-logos-is-that-they-are-not-that-hard-to-do/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Think about the market, think about the design, and think about who is going to design for that market. Hit the mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/think-about-the-market-think-about-the-design-and-think-about-who-is/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Design is a form of competitive advantage. People tend to think of design as good art, good visual language, which it absolutely has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-hackett/design-is-a-form-of-competitive-advantage-people-tend-to-think-of/) [James P Hackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-hackett/) > [I try to think and design in color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-shanks/i-try-to-think-and-design-in-color/) [Nelson Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-shanks/) > [Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it's this veneer - that the designers are handed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/most-people-make-the-mistake-of-thinking-design-is-what-it-looks-like/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/design-is-a-funny-word-some-people-think-design-means-how-it-looks/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## More by Michael Bierut > [I think once the artistic world of the type designer merged with the scientific world of the computer programmer, you began to see this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-think-once-the-artistic-world-of-the-type-designer-merged-with-the/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [If you do good work for good clients, it will lead to other good work for other good clients. If you do bad work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/if-you-do-good-work-for-good-clients-it-will-lead-to-other-good-work/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [A lot of times, you design a logo to be timeless, but with something like the Olympics, timelessness is maybe not something you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/a-lot-of-times-you-design-a-logo-to-be-timeless-but-with-something/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [I actually think it almost works the other way sometimes: making a college textbook, say, look really "user friendly" tends to also make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-actually-think-it-almost-works-the-other-way-sometimes-making-a/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [I'm not sure about my design work every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-m-not-sure-about-my-design-work-every-time/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [It's hard to predict what will happen as reading on screen becomes more of a universal norm, and when the formats dictated by social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/it-s-hard-to-predict-what-will-happen-as-reading-on-screen-becomes/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [It was stone carvers in ancient Rome, scribes in the Middle Ages, all the way through Gutenberg to the present day. That's a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/it-was-stone-carvers-in-ancient-rome-scribes-in-the-middle-ages-all/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Australia is one of the few places that I can think of where the cities, at least those I've been to, seem to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/australia-is-one-of-the-few-places-that-i-can-think-of-where-the/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Most people have no idea how much goes into designing a typeface. Twenty-six letters in the alphabet, usually with two versions of each, upper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/most-people-have-no-idea-how-much-goes-into-designing-a-typeface/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [The truth about logos is that they are not that hard to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/the-truth-about-logos-is-that-they-are-not-that-hard-to-do/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [I'm always conscious of the context, the history, the specific environment of anything that I design and what it is going to be operating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-m-always-conscious-of-the-context-the-history-the-specific/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [For instance, I assume those "carrots" we have on our keyboards were there originally to express "greater than" and "less than." Then they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/for-instance-i-assume-those-carrots-we-have-on-our-keyboards-were/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [If you look at the Olympic graphics for Mexico or Los Angeles, those programs don't look contemporary by today's eyes but they really look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/if-you-look-at-the-olympic-graphics-for-mexico-or-los-angeles-those/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [I wanted to be a graphic designer from the time I was 15, without ever having actually met one. I lived in the mid-west,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-wanted-to-be-a-graphic-designer-from-the-time-i-was-15-without-ever/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Compared with now when almost everyone knows what graphic design is and has some sort of access to the tools to make it, back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/compared-with-now-when-almost-everyone-knows-what-graphic-design-is/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) [Explore all 63 Michael Bierut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) ## More Brilliant quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [No matter how brilliant an actor is, there's always a point where they let you down, but that's all part of their journey. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hale/no-matter-how-brilliant-an-actor-is-there-s-always-a-point-where-they/) [Amanda Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hale/) > [I enjoy working with Deborah Ann, I think she's brilliant. It's been a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutina-wesley/i-enjoy-working-with-deborah-ann-i-think-she-s-brilliant-it-s-been-a/) [Rutina Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutina-wesley/) > [Gravity Falls' didn't just appear overnight - every spooky cave and moss covered tree was created by a team of brilliant artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-hirsch/gravity-falls-didn-t-just-appear-overnight-every-spooky-cave-and-moss/) [Alex Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-hirsch/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a movie that I just find flawless. Jack Nicholson... I just saw 'The Shining' again the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biehn/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-is-a-movie-that-i-just-find-flawless/) [Michael Biehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biehn/) > [“You deicde, and you make our night what you want. Brilliant and ours. Stupid and theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-phillips/you-deicde-and-you-make-our-night-what-you-want-brilliant-and-ours/) [Arthur Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-phillips/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Tom Stafford was an odd character, you know - a brilliant guy. He looked weird and I think he took a really defensive attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-fritts/tom-stafford-was-an-odd-character-you-know-a-brilliant-guy-he-looked/) [Donnie Fritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-fritts/) [Browse all 2,403 Brilliant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that you could design a terrible logo for a good company with great people and they could build it into a great program. 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