Daniel Cole here with a post on Principles. The capital P kind of principles. Unshakable principles can be hard to find today. After all, flexibility is a virtue in the modern world.

Massimo Vignelli, famous Modernist designer, has such principles. When selecting the typefaces or typeface for a project, he selects from a pool of six. He will expand that to twelve if pushed. This is a career spanning decision based on unalterable principles.

For the non-designers, this is a pretty incredible feat. If you'd like to hear more from the man himself, you can hear him speak here. Michael Beirut, perhaps one of the most recognized designers today, was once Massimo Vignelli's employee. While he worked for Vignelli he accepted the senior designer's perspective on the typographic landscape. He talks about what it was like once he broke out of this constraint here.

Finally, I leave you with a challenge of principles for designers. Pick your absolute top five typefaces. Maybe they are your favorites, maybe they are a strategic list covering every base. Now use only those for the rest of your career.

Post your list in the comments, too!

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