Constraints are not the enemy of good design. They are the brief.
When a client tells me a screen can only hold three actions, or that a brand must live in a single accent colour, that is not a wall — it is a decision already made for me. One fewer thing to agonise over.
Fewer choices, sharper work
The blank canvas is the hardest place to start. A constraint gives the work a spine:
- A fixed palette forces contrast and hierarchy to do the heavy lifting.
- A hard word count makes every label earn its place.
- A tight deadline kills the precious over-polishing that users never notice.
Where I push back
Not every constraint deserves respect. Some are habits wearing the costume of requirements. Part of the job is knowing which limits are load-bearing and which are just the way it has always been done.
The good ones, though? I keep them close. They are the difference between a design that could be anything and one that had to be exactly this.
