--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think as designers we realize design is…" description: "\"I think as designers we realize design is a signal of intention, but it also has to occur within a world and we have to understand that world in order ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png" --- # I think as designers we realize design is a signal of… ![“I think as designers we realize design is a signal of intention, but it also has to occur within a world and we have to understand that world in order to imbue our designs with inherent intelligence.” quote by William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png) > “I think as designers we realize design is a signal of intention, but it also has to occur within a world and we have to understand that world in order to imbue our designs with inherent intelligence.” [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design conveys purpose and must align with contextual intelligence to be effective. **In simple terms:** Design shows intent and must fit its environment. Key Takeaway Consider context when creating designs. Themes design intent context intelligence Mood thoughtful analytical Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - product development - urban planning - software UI - architectural projects Key Concepts human-centered design systems thinking environmental awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does context shape your design decisions? - What intelligence can you embed in your work? A Different Perspective Design alone cannot solve systemic issues without broader societal change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Signals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signals/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [If design is the first signal of human intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-design-is-the-first-signal-of-human-intention/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [Design is the first signal of human intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/design-is-the-first-signal-of-human-intention/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [It is important to realize that whatever we do or design has iconographic references, it comes from somewhere; any form is always metaphorical, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ettore-sottsass/it-is-important-to-realize-that-whatever-we-do-or-design-has/) [Ettore Sottsass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ettore-sottsass/) > [We want people to realize you are at a design school, not a land grant college. The way we look says a great deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hall/we-want-people-to-realize-you-are-at-a-design-school-not-a-land-grant/) James Hall > [People always think that designers hate each other. And we're certainly a competitive lot, but we also enjoy each other's company. No one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/people-always-think-that-designers-hate-each-other-and-we-re/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) > [I think that designers have an incredibly broad creative repertoire. They solve. They create images of perfection for any number of clients. I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-that-designers-have-an-incredibly-broad-creative-repertoire/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I don't think that design needs theory, but I think designers need theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-drucker/i-don-t-think-that-design-needs-theory-but-i-think-designers-need/) Johanna Drucker > [“Hey, pretty damn smart aren't you? You made it just ugly enough. inconspicuous. Nobody looks twice." "I have to admit, that was a hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-robb/hey-pretty-damn-smart-aren-t-you-you-made-it-just-ugly-enough/) [JD Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-robb/) > [I think designers are starting to realize that we're all in the same industry. We're making clothes - we aren't saving the world. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-altuzarra/i-think-designers-are-starting-to-realize-that-we-re-all-in-the-same/) [Joseph Altuzarra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-altuzarra/) > [I love that you can have the language between the two worlds of technology and fashion, because I don't think that many designers get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-mccartney/i-love-that-you-can-have-the-language-between-the-two-worlds-of/) [Stella McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-mccartney/) > [I think that designers and architects need to educate the people who don't quite know what they do and make a strong case for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/i-think-that-designers-and-architects-need-to-educate-the-people-who/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Music and visual performance have to influence each other. Designers and musicians have to be the nexus of all things pop culture, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/music-and-visual-performance-have-to-influence-each-other-designers/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [I think if more designers designed clothes with a more fuller figure in mind, it would represent women in a greater sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-barker/i-think-if-more-designers-designed-clothes-with-a-more-fuller-figure/) [Nigel Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-barker/) > [People always think that designers hate each other. And we're certainly a competitive lot, but we also enjoy each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/people-always-think-that-designers-hate-each-other-and-we-re-2/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) > [I think what makes me different is that... I am comfortable with expressing my vulnerability. I think designers often want to just put the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-wanders/i-think-what-makes-me-different-is-that-i-am-comfortable-with/) [Marcel Wanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-wanders/) ## More by William McDonough > [Honor commerce as the engine of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/honor-commerce-as-the-engine-of-change/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [I am very focused on large-scale deployments of renewable power and how we're going to get this done. Imagine our military bases covered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-am-very-focused-on-large-scale-deployments-of-renewable-power-and/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [You don't filter smokestacks or water. Instead, you put the filter in your head and design the problem out of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/you-don-t-filter-smokestacks-or-water-instead-you-put-the-filter-in/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [If design is the first signal of human intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-design-is-the-first-signal-of-human-intention/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [ You need that same creative force that exists in a building like Disney \[Walt Disney Concert Hall\] to actually tackle that most prosaic of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/you-need-that-same-creative-force-that-exists-in-a-building-like/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [And to use something as elegant as a tree? 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We're different, we're multi dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/we-are-not-a-green-standard-we-are-a-quality-standard-we-re-different/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/don-t-get-me-wrong-i-love-nuclear-energy-it-s-just-that-i-prefer/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [If anybody here has trouble with the concept of design humility, reflect on this: It took us 5,000 years to put wheels on our luggage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-anybody-here-has-trouble-with-the-concept-of-design-humility/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [The problem I have with carbon as a bad thing issue, is that people go out and say they want to be zero carbon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/the-problem-i-have-with-carbon-as-a-bad-thing-issue-is-that-people-go/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [If you don't have an end game of something delightful, you're just moving chess pieces around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-you-don-t-have-an-end-game-of-something-delightful-you-re-just/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [“Ultimately a regulation is a signal of design failure...it is what we call a license to harm: a permit issued by a government to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/ultimately-a-regulation-is-a-signal-of-design-failure-it-is-what-we/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [I just think it is so delightful to see people, let their elbows free. I think the exuberance of it all is really exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-just-think-it-is-so-delightful-to-see-people-let-their-elbows-free/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) [Explore all 68 William McDonough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) ## 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 > [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 > [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 > [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": "I think as designers we realize design is a signal of intention, but it also has to occur within a world and we have to understand that world in order to imbue our designs with inherent intelligence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William McDonough" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-is-a-signal-of-intention-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-is-a-signal-of-intention-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/william-mcdonough-10055_design_i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-i_2439115.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think as designers we realize design is a signal of intention, but it also has to occur within a world and…” — William McDonough", "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": "William McDonough", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think as designers we realize...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-is-a-signal-of-intention-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-think-as-designers-we-realize-design-is-a-signal-of-intention-but/#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 } } ] } ```