雋語小食

每次遊博物館，例必逛埋其書店 (精品店)，琳瑯滿目的圖書及紀念品，唔買都想睇吓，唔睇都摸吓。此等「全套服務」，在瀏覽康港博物館時，則較為少幫襯。原因無他，皆因學子真的無法辨別那些「港式 Museum Shop」跟一般文具鋪同書局有何分別，找不到光顧的理由。

一日，在 Design Museum 間 shop 仔，𥅈到此書仔 ——《401 Design Meditations》。一直都有鋪儲 quote 癮，一見到有 point 有見地的雋語便會記錄下來，所以，自然地俾封面嗰一對大 quotation mark 吸引到 (唔靚嘅封面可以好 work)。


Rockport 出版嘅書 (另外 Rotovision 出嘅都係)，外觀上，一直都覺得麻麻地，嫌佢設計略為浮誇，太「美國」，應含蓄時不夠含蓄，令購買同收藏意欲大減。相比起出版商如：Phaidon、Lars Müller、Niggli 、Hyphen Press 等，Rockport 出啲書始終冇咁可愛，題材也較大眾化。不過這正正又是其優點，大眾化和通俗，令啲書變得「冇咁㹴」。

《401 Design Meditations》，設計上保持住一貫 Rockport 式的「花臣設計」，啲字 on grid 得嚟左左右右大大小小地活潑着，啱晒康港人口味。當然，冇港式 typo 嗰種過晒火位「懶破格」「亂間字」啦，可讀性仍高。雖則話設計上未到「一見即買」嘅境地 (相信目標亦非如此)，但有時啲題目嘅設定，確係幾照顧市場，甚至偶有佳作，如之前 Rotovision 的《About Face》，便屬筍嘢。《401》，細細本，容易食，當作消閒小食倒不錯。唔想睇一大堆雞腸，長篇大論的，又想彌補一下少睇英文的罪咎感，讀讀短短的名人雋語，當作起步，最好不過。閱讀最緊要濫！Right？

內容 ok，卻樣衰，最適宜到圖書館去借回家三兩個星期慢慢睇。讀後，倒覺得百零蚊港紙的價錢，尚算可以，一些內容頗富啟發性，頗抵死。如果有折頭，大家不妨諗諗。(不過都係最適合打書釘打咗佢)

節錄小小。

Design is a better idea.
Steve Sikora, Design Guys

Design should never say, "Look at me." It should always say, "Look at this."
David Craib, Parable Design

Style > "good design" > massmarket > cliché > embarrassment > "it's over" > fetish > revival > interesting > style > "good design" > ...
Lorraine Wild, Designer, on the cyclical nature of style

Every night I pray that clients with taste will get money and clients with money will get taste.
Bill Gardner, Principal, Gardner Design

We spend a lot of effort trying to make things look effortless.
Alexander Isley, Principal, Alexander Isley Design

I love the comment, "You must love designing for a living." At that point, I usually start to laugh or break into uncontrollable tears.
Andrew Lewis, Principal, Andrew Lewis Design

Quality, cost, fast turnaround - choose any two.
Rob Wallance, Principal, Wallance Church Inc.

Never show fools unfinished work.
Emek, Artist and designer

Design's biggest enemy is the high cost of saving money.
Rob Wallance, Principal, Wallance Church Inc.

An ordinary life is a crime.
Eric Schmider, Musician

Always design a thing by considering it in its larger context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.
Eliel Saarinen, Furniture designer and architect

Doing good design is easy. But doing great design requires a great client.
Michael Osborne, Principal, Michael Osborne Design

You must look to the past in order to see the future.
Robin Perkins, Principal, Selbert Perkins Design

If you have a great idea, it will tell you how to execute it.
Jack H. Summerford, Designer and writer

Designers will no longer be paid for graphics - only for ideas.
Ken Cato, Principal, Cato Purnell Partners

順帶一提，阿勁叔都有一則雋語上鎊，喺第 58 頁。

《401 Design Meditations》
by Catherine Fishel
Rockport Publishers, Inc.
ISBN 1-59253-127-x