--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once you lose the discipline of…" description: "\"“Once you lose the discipline of functionality as a design guidepost, the imagination runs amok.”\" — Yvon Chouinard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/yvon-chouinard-5320_design_once-you-lose-the-discipline-of-function_2293852.png" --- # Once you lose the discipline of functionality as a design… ![“Once you lose the discipline of functionality as a design guidepost, the imagination runs amok.” quote by Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/yvon-chouinard-5320_design_once-you-lose-the-discipline-of-function_2293852.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/yvon-chouinard-5320_design_once-you-lose-the-discipline-of-function_2293852.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/yvon-chouinard-5320_design_once-you-lose-the-discipline-of-function_2293852.png) > ““Once you lose the discipline of functionality as a design guidepost, the imagination runs amok.”” [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Losing functional design discipline leads to unchecked imagination, risking impractical outcomes. **In simple terms:** Without function, imagination can become chaotic. Key Takeaway Balance function with creativity. Themes design creativity functionality Mood reflective instructive Type design philosophical When to use this quote - product development - creative brainstorming - brand strategy Key Concepts design thinking innovation management Questions to Reflect On - How to keep imagination grounded? - When does function hinder innovation? A Different Perspective Pure imagination may ignore feasibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Design Guidepost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design-guidepost-5400620/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Functionality Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/functionality-design-5400621/) [Guidepost Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guidepost-imagination-5400619/) [Lose Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-discipline-759733/) ## Related quotes > [Oftentimes, successful brands can lose discipline or become complacent over time, applying less rigor to the cost control and returns on investment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-paliwal/oftentimes-successful-brands-can-lose-discipline-or-become-complacent/) [Dinesh Paliwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-paliwal/) > [You have to be disciplined because if you lose your discipline and lose your shape, we're playing against better players, so they'll take advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-jewell/you-have-to-be-disciplined-because-if-you-lose-your-discipline-and/) [Paul Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-jewell/) > [It's like a muscle - if you stop going to the gym or stop running, you get weak. The military teaches you these great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goggins/it-s-like-a-muscle-if-you-stop-going-to-the-gym-or-stop-running-you/) [David Goggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goggins/) > [ Please don't fall into the trap of believing that I am terribly dogmatical about \[the goto statement\]. I have the uncomfortable feeling that others… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/please-don-t-fall-into-the-trap-of-believing-that-i-am-terribly/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [The geometry reveals five development direction for applications (each with endless possibilities); dividing, dwelling, trestle, fenestration and artistic installation. 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Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Yvon Chouinard > [Once you educate yourself, you're left with choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/once-you-educate-yourself-you-re-left-with-choices/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [A real capitalist knows that $10 given today does a lot more good than $100 given 10 years from now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/a-real-capitalist-knows-that-10-given-today-does-a-lot-more-good-than/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Doing risk sports had taught me another important lesson: never exceed your limits. You push the envelope and you live for those moments when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/doing-risk-sports-had-taught-me-another-important-lesson-never-exceed/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [But I'm really trying to run this company like it is going to be here a hundred years from now. That's what's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/but-i-m-really-trying-to-run-this-company-like-it-is-going-to-be-here/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Who are businesses really responsible to? Their customers? Shareholders? Employees? We would argue that it’s none of the above. Fundamentally, businesses are responsible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/who-are-businesses-really-responsible-to-their-customers-shareholders/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [It's okay to be eccentric if you're rich; otherwise you're just crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/it-s-okay-to-be-eccentric-if-you-re-rich-otherwise-you-re-just-crazy/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/evil-doesn-t-have-to-be-an-overt-act-it-can-be-merely-the-absence-of/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [The whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain. But if you compromise the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-whole-purpose-of-climbing-something-like-everest-is-to-effect/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [At Patagonia, making a profit is not the goal because the Zen master would say profits happen 'when you do everything else right'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/at-patagonia-making-a-profit-is-not-the-goal-because-the-zen-master/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Traveling is my form of self-education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/traveling-is-my-form-of-self-education/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Everything we personally own that’s made, sold, shipped, stored, cleaned, and ultimately thrown away does some environmental harm every step of the way, harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/everything-we-personally-own-that-s-made-sold-shipped-stored-cleaned/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [We've teamed up with some Japanese companies to, basically by 2010, make all our clothing out of recycled and recyclable fibers. And we're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/we-ve-teamed-up-with-some-japanese-companies-to-basically-by-2010/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [You can solo-climb Everest without using oxygen or you can pay guides and Sherpas to carry your loads, put ladders across crevasses, lay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/you-can-solo-climb-everest-without-using-oxygen-or-you-can-pay-guides/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Climbing for speed records will probably become more popular, a mania which has just begun. Climbers climb not just to see how fast and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/climbing-for-speed-records-will-probably-become-more-popular-a-mania/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Everything we make pollutes. The most responsible thing we can do is to make each product as well as we know how so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/everything-we-make-pollutes-the-most-responsible-thing-we-can-do-is/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) [Explore all 101 Yvon Chouinard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) ## 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. 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