Perfection

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
This is probably a favorite quote when it comes to defining good design. It is so tempting to cram all those ideas into a new project: those ideas that went unrealized in previous designs, those that you see while you're out and about or travelling, or those that you dream up while out on a bike ride in the morning.
Taking one good, solid idea and thoroughly developing it is far superior than taking a dozen so-so ideas and hoping that the collection of them will make something worthwhile; it never does. And it is obvious when this has happened on a project.
Bad design is noticed immediately, it feels awkward, clunky, or it just may feel like something is off a little. Good design, however, goes unnoticed more often than it is noticed, and always takes a lot more work. I think today we'll go for Door #2, Monty.