> Charles Eames’s distinction between forced compromises and willingly accepted constraints reveals a profound truth — in the delicate balance between structure and freedom lies the sweet spot where creativity thrives.
Suggested constraint: "write this post without AI".
zhenpixels · 2h ago
You caught me. Will do.
kunzhi · 2h ago
For anyone interested in more constraint reading, highly highly recommend Notes on the Synthesis of Form by Christopher Alexander.
IMHO it should be required reading for all programmers and designers.
zhenpixels · 39m ago
Great suggestion. Just bought it.
dvh · 4h ago
If you ask random people to draw a horse, they will give you excuses why they can't draw. Tell them to draw horse using only rectangles and suddenly everybody is a painter.
betterThanTexas · 3h ago
That's actually pretty interesting insight into painting (to me, anyway).
recursivedoubts · 4h ago
"The enemy of art is the absence of limitations" --Orson Welles
alganet · 3h ago
Remember when this idea bred those fake minimalist preachers? Mistaking constraint-based design for asceticism?
Too much constraints, you end up in a corner.
It reminds me of Windows Metro. That was good constraint-based design. Lots of clever thinking in the good direction. Windows 8 was great (hey, Apple copied some of it, the highest form of praise).
Eames was smart. Translating those things to tech is often a challenge. Keeping the thing human is difficult.
Suggested constraint: "write this post without AI".
IMHO it should be required reading for all programmers and designers.
Too much constraints, you end up in a corner.
It reminds me of Windows Metro. That was good constraint-based design. Lots of clever thinking in the good direction. Windows 8 was great (hey, Apple copied some of it, the highest form of praise).
Eames was smart. Translating those things to tech is often a challenge. Keeping the thing human is difficult.