To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can

“To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.” Thus spoke Milton Glaser, the master of form and message, whose art was not bound by paint or pen, but by the eternal desire to speak through creation. His words are not only for artists, but for all who seek to make meaning visible in a chaotic world. For design, in its truest sense, is not decoration — it is communication made tangible, the union of thought and matter, the translation of the unseen into the seen. In every age, the wise have known: to create is to speak; to design is to reveal truth.

To the ancients, this idea would not have been strange. The builders of temples and the carvers of statues did not see themselves as makers of objects, but as messengers of meaning. When the Greeks sculpted their marble gods, they sought not merely beauty, but understanding — to teach of virtue, of power, of human fragility. The architect who raised the Parthenon, the scribe who etched laws upon clay, the painter who adorned the tomb of a pharaoh — all were designers, though the word had not yet been born. They communicated through stone, color, proportion, and form — the ancient tongues of design.

Milton Glaser, who gave the world the simple, eternal emblem “I ❤ NY,” knew this truth as well. His design was not complex, yet it spoke with the clarity of a bell across generations. It communicated love, identity, and pride in a time when New York was wounded by fear and decline. In those few strokes — a heart, three letters — he accomplished what no speech or manifesto could: he moved hearts. That is the power of true design — not to impress the eye, but to awaken the soul.

Glaser’s quote teaches that to design is not the privilege of artists alone, but the duty of all who seek to be understood. Each of us designs — with our words, our gestures, our choices, our way of being. Every letter written, every room arranged, every act performed in the presence of others is a form of communication. And yet, too often, we design carelessly — our speech tangled, our intentions clouded, our messages lost in noise. But Glaser reminds us that mastery is not in possessing many tools, but in using the ones we have with clarity and purpose.

Consider the story of the Roman orator Cicero, whose power did not lie in his wealth or armies, but in his mastery of communication. His words could stir a republic or stop a tyrant, for he understood that clarity is persuasion, and persuasion is power. He designed his speeches as an artist designs a temple — every phrase placed to balance strength and grace. Like Glaser’s designer, Cicero used “whatever means he could control” — his voice, his intellect, his courage — to shape his world through communication. His tools were not brushes or chisels, but reason and rhythm, and yet he too was a designer — of minds, of moments, of destiny.

In Glaser’s teaching, there is humility and liberation. You need not master every medium; you must only master yourself. A clear spirit creates clear work. A confused heart creates confusion. When you design — be it an image, a plan, a message, or a life — you are offering the world a reflection of your inner order. Therefore, the act of design begins not with the hand, but with the soul. To design clearly, you must first see clearly — what you mean, what you value, what you wish to give.

Let this be your lesson: clarity is not a gift of talent, but the fruit of intention. Speak, build, draw, and act with the purpose to reveal, not to impress. When you communicate, think not of how grand your expression may appear, but how true it will sound to another’s heart. Strip away what is needless. Leave what is essential. Let your designs — whether in art, work, or living — become bridges, not barriers.

For in the end, as Glaser knew, to design is to connect — to draw one line between your soul and the world, and to make it shine. Whether through words or color, silence or motion, design is the language of humanity itself. Master it not by many tools, but by a clear purpose and an honest heart. Then your life, like your work, will speak for you — and the world will understand.