§ 178. The rule for making rules

It is simple—first you need to do something well and then look for a pattern. If you set the rules first, and then try designing something according to them, you’ll get a working model of a Procrustean bed.

Let’s take, for example, layout grids. You can’t line the sheet first and then try squeezing in the data. First, you need to arrange the content the way you like it, and then look for a general principle that will be the basis for all rules.

There’s a heart behind every good rule.