Top 31 Quotes & Sayings by Tibor Kalman

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American designer Tibor Kalman.

Last updated on April 21, 2025.

Tibor George Kalman was an American graphic designer of Hungarian origin, well known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine.

American - Designer | July 6, 1949 - May 2, 1999

Source: Wikipedia

I use contrary-ism in every part of my life.

Tibor Kalman

If someone is going to permit me to make a publication that is politically and culturally progressive and not tell me to put their favorite movie stars on the cover, if I get to do what I want in an honest way - as I did in the beginning at 'Colors' - then I'm going to do it.

Tibor Kalman

By definition, when you make something no one hates, no one loves it.

Tibor Kalman

Pictures are so good at giving people information that they're not looking for.

Tibor Kalman

Edits are very important to me - they're the way in which I work on everything.

Tibor Kalman

The difference between good design and great design is intelligence.

Tibor Kalman

Let's face it: we live at a time when government is less and less powerful, less and less effective, and the agent of social change, at least for the immediate future, is the corporation.

Tibor Kalman

Good designers are no longer satisfied in taking the manuscript from someone and making it look nice. One of the things that I've tried to do is move from being a designer to a content provider.

Tibor Kalman

I'm not against beauty; it just sounds boring to me.

Tibor Kalman

I'm always trying to turn things upside down and see if they look any better.

Tibor Kalman

We live in a society and a culture and an economic model that tries to make everything look right.

Tibor Kalman

I am interested in imperfections, quirkiness, insanity, unpredictability. That's what we really pay attention to anyway. We don't talk about planes flying; we talk about them crashing.

Tibor Kalman

I like being a 10-year-old kid who's in charge.

Tibor Kalman

I'm not as good a writer as I'd like to be; therefore, I like to use images to tell stories.

Tibor Kalman

No matter what your cultural sophistication or what language you speak, everyone can understand images.

Tibor Kalman

Consumer culture is contradiction in terms

Tibor Kalman

Some people... cling to the idea that the photograph is an inherently real or honest image and as such is always on a different plane from an obviously subjective form of visual communication such as painting.

Tibor Kalman

I believe that this whole question of some photography being true and some untrue is a non-question. Photography is not objective; it never was objective.

Tibor Kalman

Think like an artist. Dress like an insurance salesman.

Tibor Kalman

Design is just language and the real issue is what you use that language to do.

Tibor Kalman

We don't talk about planes flying. We talk about them crashing.

Tibor Kalman

Perspective is a moment in time that cannot be fully appreciated until that moment has passed.

Tibor Kalman

What is said determines who listens and who understands. Graphic design is a language, but graphic designers are so busy worrying about the nuances - accents, punctuation and so on - that they spend little time thinking about what the words add up to. I’m interested in using our communication skills to change the way things are.

Tibor Kalman