Between rules and a sense of proportion - why design needs more than textbook knowledge

Over the past few weeks, we have repeatedly come across posts on social media about design rules - clear do's and don'ts that provide orientation and can be found in almost every textbook on visual communication. We really appreciate these principles (at least most of the time) and often work according to them ourselves.

And yet there is one "rule" that always accompanies us at studio elan. A sentence by the Swiss graphic designer Walter F. Haettenschweiler:

"Sometimes you just have to take it easy with your eyes."

(Sometimes you just have to check it with your eyes).

This down-to-earth idea inspires us because it sounds so simple - and yet has so much depth. Rules help, but in the end it's perception that counts. You can feel a good design. It is not only created in the mind, but through the interplay of experience, intuition and a trained eye.

Because yes, even an AI tool can apply all the rules correctly today. But the essential thing remains the human yardstick - our perception. And sometimes that also means deliberately breaking the rules.

The challenge here is to train the eye. Perception is not the same as opinion. It can easily be clouded by personal preferences. That's why "I don't like it" is never a valid argument. There is often more to it - proportion, rhythm, contrast or the effect in the room. It is precisely these subtle differences that need to be seen, named and translated into design.

For us, this means that we don't just want to follow the rules, we want to design with a sense of proportion. Fresh, tangible and always new.