At the most basic level, prioritizing design also represents a

"At the most basic level, prioritizing design also represents a practical consideration. It's far easier to design first and engineer later." – Ryan Holmes

In these pragmatic yet profound words, Ryan Holmes, the visionary founder of Hootsuite, speaks to one of the oldest truths in the history of creation — that vision must precede construction, and design must guide execution. What he declares here is not confined to the realm of technology or engineering, but extends to all acts of creation — to art, to architecture, to life itself. To design first is to imagine, to see the unseen; it is to give shape to the formless and to build the skeleton of purpose before the muscles of labor are attached. For without design, even the strongest hands will labor in vain, and even the most powerful tools will scatter their energy in confusion.

The origin of this insight lies in Holmes’s experience leading teams of engineers, developers, and creators in the fast-paced world of digital innovation. He saw that when design is an afterthought — when one builds before envisioning — the result is disorder: systems patched together, ideas half-born, and time wasted repairing what could have been prevented by forethought. His words remind us that clarity of vision saves the builder from chaos, that good design is not luxury, but the foundation of practicality. Just as an architect must sketch the temple before the mason lays the stone, so must every creator conceive before constructing.

This principle reaches back through the ages. Consider Leonardo da Vinci, the master whose designs for flying machines, bridges, and weapons were centuries ahead of their time. Though few of his inventions were built during his life, his sketches endure as testaments to the supremacy of design. Leonardo knew that every invention, every masterpiece, is first born in the imagination — and only afterward shaped by the hand. He once said, “He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder.” So too does Holmes remind the modern creator that to act without designing is to sail without direction — to move, perhaps, but never to arrive.

Even in the grand works of civilization, this wisdom has proven eternal. The ancient builders of Egypt and Greece did not raise their monuments blindly; their temples and pyramids were not the accidents of trial and error, but the fruit of sacred geometry and divine design. Before a single stone was moved, the proportions were measured, the heavens consulted, and the purpose defined. In this way, their works have endured for millennia — not because of their size, but because of their intentional harmony. Their design was not decoration, but destiny.

And yet, Holmes’s words speak also to a deeper truth within the soul. For every life, too, is a structure under construction. Many rush to build — to act, to achieve, to labor endlessly — without pausing to design the life they wish to live. They confuse motion with meaning, and end up exhausted by their own ambition. But those who take time to design — to ask what kind of life they wish to inhabit, what values will hold it upright — these are the ones whose foundations do not crumble. Design first, live later. The heart that plans its purpose before it spends its strength is like the architect who builds upon rock, not sand.

To design first and engineer later is therefore not only a method of work, but a philosophy of wisdom. It asks of us patience, foresight, and faith in the unseen. It teaches that form must serve function, that beauty and efficiency are not rivals but partners. The designer is the dreamer who charts the map; the engineer is the traveler who brings it to life. Without one, the other wanders; together, they move the world forward.

Lesson: My children, let this be your guide: before you build, imagine; before you labor, plan; before you act, understand. Do not mistake haste for progress or effort for purpose. Whether you craft a bridge, a company, or a destiny, begin always with design — for in design lies both intention and direction. As Ryan Holmes teaches, it is far easier to build what has been well envisioned than to fix what has been built in blindness. Thus, let every creation — whether of stone, code, or spirit — begin first in the quiet drawing-room of thought, where the architect of the soul sketches the blueprint of eternity.