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It’s an uncomfortable truth: The ideas that are cool often matter a lot more than ideas that are good.
They have style. They have edge. They have design that seduces and creativity that dares.
If you want to change the world, it’s going to help enormously for you to demonstrate a bit of style and flair.
If you think about some of the most quotable figures in human history, they all have one thing in common: They have style. They are not simply the smartest and most innovative thinkers on the planet, though many of them are also that. They are also the type of person who speaks with a wit and an insight that can only be described with the elusive and difficult to define concept of “cool.”
Oscar Wilde. H.L. Mencken. Leonardo da Vinci. These are people who express not only great ideas, but also possess the style to make them attractive to generations of people seeking truth, wisdom, and insight.
The bedrock of this kind of style is the confidence to express oneself with flair. Confidence is what makes so much of what is stylish actually work. It is an attractive quality in its own right and, of course, having confidence simply makes living one’s life easier.
We have compiled some of our favorite quotes on the subject of style and confidence that we hope help you to arrive at your own place of “cool.”
Insightful Quotes on Design, Functionality & Human Experience
“The design is not just what it looks like and feels like. The design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci
“Design is thinking made visual.” – Saul Bass
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
“The details are not the details. They make the design.” – Charles Eames
“Design is where science and art break even.” – Robin Mathew
“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.” – Robert L. Peters
“Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” – Paul Rand
“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” – Paul Rand
“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.” – John Maeda, The Laws of Simplicity
“Simple is good.” – Jim Henson, It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider
“If you can design one thing, you can design everything.” – Massimo Vignelli
“To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.” – Milton Glaser
“Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent.” – Joe Sparano
Creativity Quotes to Spark Innovation and Breakthrough Ideas
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” – Albert Einstein
“The creative adult is the child who survived.” – Ursula K. Le Guin
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” – Mary Lou Cook
“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” – Dorothy Parker
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.” – Pablo Picasso
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something.” – Steve Jobs
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” – Steve Jobs
Stylish Quotes on Confidence, Self-Expression & Standing Out
“To achieve style, begin by affecting none.” – E.B. White & William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style
“On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Fashion changes, but style endures.” – Coco Chanel
“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” – Gore Vidal
“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.” – Jean Cocteau
“Trendy is the last stage before tacky.” – Karl Lagerfeld
“Reinvent new combinations of what you already own. Improvise. Become more creative. Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret for the next step.” – Karl Lagerfeld
“Why change? Everyone has his own style. When you have found it, you should stick to it.” – Audrey Hepburn
“Simplicity is the greatest sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci