--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Designers may be the true intellectuals…" description: "\"Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future.\" — Paola Antonelli" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png" --- # Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future. ![“Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future.” quote by Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png) > “Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future.” [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Designers shape how we interpret and interact with reality, making them pivotal thinkers for future societies. **In simple terms:** Designers as future intellectuals Key Takeaway Design influences cognition Themes creativity future studies cultural impact technology innovation Mood inspired thoughtful Type observation visionary When to use this quote - product development - urban planning - education curricula - policy making Key Concepts design thinking intellectual authority societal evolution Practical Applications - strategic foresight - cross‑disciplinary research Questions to Reflect On - How does design mediate knowledge? - What responsibilities arise for designers? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Designer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designer/) [Designers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designers/) [Designers True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designers-true-1119361/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Graphic art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-art/) [Graphic artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-artist/) [Graphic design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-design/) [Graphic designer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-designer/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Intellectuals Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals-future-1119360/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-intellectuals-1119362/) ## Related quotes > [Designers can create normalcy out of chaos; they can clearly communicate ideas through the organising and manipulating of words and pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-veen/designers-can-create-normalcy-out-of-chaos-they-can-clearly-2/) [Jeffrey Veen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-veen/) > [The life of a designer is a life of fight. Fight against the ugliness. Just like a doctor fights against disease. For us, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-vignelli/the-life-of-a-designer-is-a-life-of-fight-fight-against-the-ugliness-2/) [Massimo Vignelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-vignelli/) > [“p.cm. Includes indexes.ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-6278-7 (soft cover) ISBN-10: 0-7360-6278-5 (soft cover) 1. Hatha yoga.2. Human anatomy.I.Title.RA781.7. K356 2007 613.7’046--dc22 2007010050 ISBN-10: 0-7360-6278-5 (print) ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-6278-7…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/p-cm-includes-indexes-isbn-13-978-0-7360-6278-7-soft-cover-isbn-10-0/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Design is in everything we make, but it's also between those things. It's a mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda, and philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-adigard/design-is-in-everything-we-make-but-it-s-also-between-those-things-it/) [Erik Adigard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-adigard/) > [If design isn't profitable, then it's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-fisker/if-design-isn-t-profitable-then-it-s-art/) [Henrik Fisker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-fisker/) > [This is the launch of the Doctor Strange film interpretation, of - in my view - a classic, which has been interpreted many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/this-is-the-launch-of-the-doctor-strange-film-interpretation-of-in-my/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/if-you-remember-the-shape-of-your-spoon-at-lunch-it-has-to-be-the/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) > [I love doing logos. I've been a graphic artist all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-allen/i-love-doing-logos-i-ve-been-a-graphic-artist-all-my-life/) [Tim Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-allen/) > [Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/nothing-is-original-steal-from-anywhere-that-resonates-with-2/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/select-only-things-to-steal-from-that-speak-directly-to-your-soul/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [I have a brother who's a schoolteacher, a sister who's a graphic artist, a brother who is a lawyer. I have a brother who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronan-farrow/i-have-a-brother-who-s-a-schoolteacher-a-sister-who-s-a-graphic/) [Ronan Farrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronan-farrow/) > [Skill in the digital age is confused with mastery of digital tools, masking the importance of understanding materials and mastering the elements of form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/skill-in-the-digital-age-is-confused-with-mastery-of-digital-tools/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) > [I've always considered myself a graphic artists - a draftsman - as opposed to a typist. I do still work on a drawing table.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schwab/i-ve-always-considered-myself-a-graphic-artists-a-draftsman-as/) [Michael Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schwab/) > [“Crema Seamans," Ethan repeated thoughtfully. "It's like a soup made from ... various semens. A medley of semens. It's a flavour of Campbell's soup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/crema-seamans-ethan-repeated-thoughtfully-it-s-like-a-soup-made-from/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I'd just sort of gravitated toward the arts, and I had always loved music and really loved theater, even though I didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-jenkins/i-d-just-sort-of-gravitated-toward-the-arts-and-i-had-always-loved/) [Patty Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-jenkins/) ## More by Paola Antonelli > [I consider video games a form of design that is amazingly important today and that is going to become even more important in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/i-consider-video-games-a-form-of-design-that-is-amazingly-important/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Not all design is for the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/not-all-design-is-for-the-general-good/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Designers need to be mavericks, because the best way to design a successful object is to pretend that either it never existed or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-need-to-be-mavericks-because-the-best-way-to-design-a/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Be yourself, be in the moment, you’re going to be modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/be-yourself-be-in-the-moment-you-re-going-to-be-modern/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [ The idea of being able to build things bottom up, atom by atom, has made \[scientists\] all into tinkerers. And all of a sudden… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/the-idea-of-being-able-to-build-things-bottom-up-atom-by-atom-has/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [People think that design is styling. Design is not style. It's not about giving shape to the shell and not giving a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/people-think-that-design-is-styling-design-is-not-style-it-s-not/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Beauty and elegance are a right, not a surplus... . We must demand, at least, intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/beauty-and-elegance-are-a-right-not-a-surplus-we-must-demand-at-least/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [While an artist can choose whether or not to be responsive and responsible towards other human beings, by definition a designer must be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/while-an-artist-can-choose-whether-or-not-to-be-responsive-and/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Heaven is satisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/heaven-is-satisfied-curiosity/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [In an ideal world, social responsibility would be a prerequisite for design, and designers would vow to produce beautiful, useful, positive, responsible, functional, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/in-an-ideal-world-social-responsibility-would-be-a-prerequisite-for/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Small objects, like the Walkman first and then the iPod, create bubbles of space around us that enable us to have a metaphysical space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/small-objects-like-the-walkman-first-and-then-the-ipod-create-bubbles/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Ugly design should be rejected, just like nonfunctional design is rejected, just like nonenvironmentally conscious design should be rejected. It's a value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/ugly-design-should-be-rejected-just-like-nonfunctional-design-is/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Elegance in objects is everybody’s right, and it shouldn’t cost more than ugliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/elegance-in-objects-is-everybody-s-right-and-it-shouldn-t-cost-more/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Good design is a Renaissance attitude that combines tech, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/good-design-is-a-renaissance-attitude-that-combines-tech-cognitive/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Designers stand between revolutions and everyday life. They’re able to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and society and convert those changes into objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-stand-between-revolutions-and-everyday-life-they-re-able-to/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) [Explore all 17 Paola Antonelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) ## More Design quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) [Fang Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fang-chen/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paola Antonelli" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals-of-the-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals-of-the-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/paola-antonelli-30510_design_designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals_89683.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future.” — Paola Antonelli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paola Antonelli", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Designers may be the true intellectuals...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals-of-the-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals-of-the-future/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```