Top 39 Quotes & Sayings by Debbie Millman

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American writer Debbie Millman.

Last updated on April 21, 2025.

Debbie Millman is an American writer, educator, artist, curator, and designer who is best known as the host of the podcast Design Matters. She has authored six books and is the President Emeritus of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and chair, one of only five women to hold the position over 100 years. She co-founded the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City with Steven Heller. She was previously the editorial and creative director of Print magazine. Her illustrations have appeared in many major publications, including New York Magazine, Design Observer, and Fast Company and her artwork has been included in many museums and institutes including the Design Museum of Chicago and the Boston Biennale.

American - Writer | Born: November 2, 1962

Source: Wikipedia

Many brands have lost their way in the process of evolving from a small company to a much bigger corporation.

Debbie Millman

Design and branding are inextricably linked to the way in which society, culture, the environment, and business interact.

Debbie Millman

We create constructs to understand ourselves, the way we look, how we feel, what we believe - and we telegraph that 'branding' to the world.

Debbie Millman

Obama really changed the way in which design can be used effectively for a candidate.

Debbie Millman

Even though brands are created by people, they belong to the corporations.

Debbie Millman

Ever since Marcel Duchamp appropriated mass market objects and pronounced them 'readymades' and Andy Warhol elevated the Campbell's soup can and Brillo Box to art, artists and designers have been blurring the lines between fine art and commerce.

Debbie Millman

I love my iPad Pro and my Apple pencil. They have changed the way I work in really cool ways.

Debbie Millman

Branding is deliberate differentiation.

Debbie Millman

Massimo Vignelli designed a timeless, elegant, and powerful identity for American Airlines.

Debbie Millman

Humans metabolize their purchases very quickly, even if it seemed worth it for any number of reasons when you first bought it. After some time passes, people will go back to feeling the baseline feelings they had previously felt about themselves, no matter how shiny the object, the hair, or the experience.

Debbie Millman

No matter how bleak the situation into which we have been thrown by the global economy, it does offer opportunities. Designers need only invent them.

Debbie Millman

Substance over style is the rule for all resumes. Any special effects will dilute the gravitas and stature of the impression. You want people to concentrate on your accomplishments and your successes, not the curlicues of a font or unusual shades or contrast of colors.

Debbie Millman

Do not be afraid to want a lot.

Debbie Millman

People do not read first. First and foremost, they see color. Then they see numbers, then shape, and then, if you still have their attention and they understand what you put in front of them, then they will read.

Debbie Millman

You shouldn't be learning how to code when you're middle-aged. You should be learning how to code when you're a kid.

Debbie Millman

I often say that 'Design Matters' began in February 2005 with an idea and a telephone line.

Debbie Millman

Companies that are design-led understand that design is not a deliverable; it is a profound manifestation of the human spirit.

Debbie Millman

I tell all my students, 'Learn how to code.' It's sort of like learning Spanish in third grade. When you're still young and you still have that sort of agile mind, that's when you should do it.

Debbie Millman

Courage is the birthplace of confidence.

Debbie Millman

A brand is simply a set of beliefs. And if you don't create a set of beliefs around your products or services, well, you stand for nothing - you have no values and no vision.

Debbie Millman

Millennials don't want to be bombarded by ads. But what is so interesting to me, though, is how willingly they accept native content. Or native advertising - it's not even native content.

Debbie Millman

Our abilities are limited only by our perceptions.

Debbie Millman

One bit of advice I can give people is to remember that anything worthwhile takes a long time.

Debbie Millman

Visual storytelling combines the narrative text of a story with creative elements to augment and enhance the traditional storytelling process. By design, it is a co-creative process resulting in an intimate, interpretive, expressive technique.

Debbie Millman

No one likes someone who's really overconfident.

Debbie Millman

Authenticity in branding requires a step by step, measured methodology that doesn't veer from a brand's key identity.

Debbie Millman

Never give up if it is something that you really want.

Debbie Millman

The thing that I like about magazines, paper magazines, and papers in any kind of tangible format is the surprise factor of turning the page and not necessarily knowing what you're going to see. You're not looking for something. You're just experiencing something.

Debbie Millman

I find working on brands some of the most interesting work you can do.

Debbie Millman

I found that the only thing I felt passionate about drawing were words.

Debbie Millman

I don't regret the decisions that I've made. I really truly understand why I made them.

Debbie Millman

My most memorable design-related encounter was also one of my most life-changing. I met Joyce Rutter Kaye, 'Print''s editor-in-chief from 1998-2008. It was at 6 A.M. on a cross-country flight from New York to Vancouver for the 2003 National AIGA conference.

Debbie Millman

Everything in our world is branded.

Debbie Millman

If I'd had more courage, I would've pursued a less commercial path. Maybe I would've gone into musical theater.

Debbie Millman

Visual storytelling utilizes both language and art to pass on the essence of who we are.

Debbie Millman

Actually - and ironically - people aren't really interested in a new brand form or flavor as much as they are interested in how a brand can change, impact, or improve their lives. They want brands around them that make them feel special and provide some social cache or confidence.

Debbie Millman

'Money' is never about money. It's an intellectual exchange for something that you believe will make you feel better.

Debbie Millman

LaCroix is deftly devoted to its zealots, and this is a classic case study of how lavishly loving your constituents is the best way to get them to buy more.

Debbie Millman

In design-led organizations, design permeates every initiative and expression. It's embedded in the culture.

Debbie Millman

Top 39 Quotes & Sayings by Debbie Millman

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