--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Design is everything." description: "\"Design is everything.\" — William Merritt Chase" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg" --- # Design is everything. ![“Design is everything.” quote by William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg) > “Design is everything.” [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design shapes perception, function, and experience, making it central to all creative outcomes. **In simple terms:** Design is central to everything. Key Takeaway Prioritize design in every project. Themes creativity functionality perception Mood inspired critical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - product development - architecture - graphic design - marketing campaigns Key Concepts aesthetics human-centered design Questions to Reflect On - How does design influence user behavior? - What responsibilities do designers hold? A Different Perspective Design alone cannot solve deeper societal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Design truly is a contact sport. It demands that we bring all of our senses to the task, and that we apply the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wujec/design-truly-is-a-contact-sport-it-demands-that-we-bring-all-of-our/) [Tom Wujec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wujec/) > [In the marketplace, design is your greatest differentiator once everything becomes comparable in terms of technology and quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-mcgovern/in-the-marketplace-design-is-your-greatest-differentiator-once/) [Gerry McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-mcgovern/) > [When I'm designing I try to think about what I like to see on other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwyane-wade/when-i-m-designing-i-try-to-think-about-what-i-like-to-see-on-other/) [Dwyane Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwyane-wade/) > [Design is all about relationships. Unfortunately, many designers don’t fully appreciate this. Some of the best design work I’ve ever done was drinking coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-burka/design-is-all-about-relationships-unfortunately-many-designers-don-t/) [Daniel Burka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-burka/) > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [I love design; to create stuff from ground zero is the best for me. I'm always so intense when I talk about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/i-love-design-to-create-stuff-from-ground-zero-is-the-best-for-me-i-m/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [Math is easy; design is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-veen/math-is-easy-design-is-hard/) [Jeffrey Veen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-veen/) > [Of course design is about problem solving, but I cannot resist adding something personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-crouwel/of-course-design-is-about-problem-solving-but-i-cannot-resist-adding/) [Wim Crouwel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-crouwel/) > [My objective is to design a space that nobody else can come up with while using the material that anyone can use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/my-objective-is-to-design-a-space-that-nobody-else-can-come-up-with/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Design can be both a manifestation of a company's design ethic and an outward communication of a company's design ethic and drive for excellence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-lutz/design-can-be-both-a-manifestation-of-a-company-s-design-ethic-and-an/) [Bob Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-lutz/) ## More by William Merritt Chase > [Life is very short... but I would like to live four times and if I could, I would set out to do no other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/life-is-very-short-but-i-would-like-to-live-four-times-and-if-i-could/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [You must try to match your colors as nearly as you can to those you see before you, and you must study the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/you-must-try-to-match-your-colors-as-nearly-as-you-can-to-those-you/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Combine a certain amount of indifference with your ambition. Be carefully careless. If you don't succeed today, there is always tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/combine-a-certain-amount-of-indifference-with-your-ambition-be/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [I don't believe in making pencil sketches and then painting landscape in your studio. You must be right under the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/i-don-t-believe-in-making-pencil-sketches-and-then-painting-landscape/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Do not try to paint the grandiose thing. Paint the commonplace so that it will be distinguished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/do-not-try-to-paint-the-grandiose-thing-paint-the-commonplace-so-that/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [I am not sure that it is a bad thing to go to a school, as I did, where the boys threw things at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/i-am-not-sure-that-it-is-a-bad-thing-to-go-to-a-school-as-i-did-where/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Association with my pupils has kept me young in my work. Criticism of their work has kept my own point of view clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/association-with-my-pupils-has-kept-me-young-in-my-work-criticism-of/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Don't try to make comparisons between your own pictures. Forget what you have done and think only of making the best of what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/don-t-try-to-make-comparisons-between-your-own-pictures-forget-what/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Diversity...is not casual liberal tolerance of anything not yourself. It is not polite accommodation. Instead, diversity is, in action, the sometimes painful awareness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/diversity-is-not-casual-liberal-tolerance-of-anything-not-yourself-it/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [It takes two to paint. One to paint, the other to stand by with an axe to kill him before he spoils it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/it-takes-two-to-paint-one-to-paint-the-other-to-stand-by-with-an-axe/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [My God, I'd rather go to Europe than go to heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/my-god-i-d-rather-go-to-europe-than-go-to-heaven/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [You must try to match your colors as nearly as you can to those you see before you, and you must study the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/you-must-try-to-match-your-colors-as-nearly-as-you-can-to-those-you-2/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Do not imagine that I would disregard that thing that lies beneath the mask... but be sure that when the outside is rightly seen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/do-not-imagine-that-i-would-disregard-that-thing-that-lies-beneath/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) [Explore all 14 William Merritt Chase quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) ## 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": "Design is everything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Merritt Chase" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/design-is-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/design-is-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/william-merritt-chase-33855_design_design-is-everything-2318903_2318903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Design is everything.” — William Merritt Chase", "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 Merritt Chase", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Design is everything.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/design-is-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/design-is-everything/#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 } } ] } ```