VOL. 01 — A DESIGN WORKSHOP
FORM
FOLLOWS
FUNCTION
Principles for designing with purpose, clarity and restraint.
{{author}} · 2026
INDEX
What’s
inside
Five short chapters. Roughly forty minutes, with room for questions.
01
Why form matters
The case for intentional design
02
The grid
Structure you can feel but not see
03
Color & contrast
Three primaries, used with discipline
04
Process
From first sketch to final form
05
Next steps
Putting the principles to work
Less, but
better.
DIETER RAMS
Every element should earn its place on the page.
01 — PRINCIPLES
Three rules for every layout
I.
Clarity
Say one thing per slide. If the audience has to search for the point, the design has failed.
II.
Structure
Align everything to a shared grid. Order creates calm, and calm creates attention.
III.
Economy
Remove until it breaks, then add back one thing. Restraint is a feature, not a limitation.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
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CHAPTER
TWO
02
SECTION
The Grid
An invisible framework that gives every element a home — and makes a page feel inevitable rather than arranged.
03 — BY THE NUMBERS
Why hierarchy pays off
72%
of readers scan a slide before they read it. Hierarchy decides what they find.
3×
faster comprehension with one clear focal point per slide.
12
columns in the base grid behind every layout
48h
from first sketch to a working prototype
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
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04 — PROCESS
Four moves, repeated
until it feels simple
STEP 01
STEP 02
STEP 03
STEP 04
Observe
Watch how people actually use the thing. Collect evidence, not opinions.
Reduce
Strip the problem to its essentials. Name the one job it must do.
Compose
Arrange the essentials on the grid. Let proportion carry the message.
Refine
Test, measure and cut again. Ship when nothing is left to remove.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
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vs
BEFORE
Decoration
Ornament added for its own sake
Five fonts, eleven colors
Every idea competes for attention
Meaning buried under style
AFTER
Function
Every mark has a job
One typeface, three primaries
A single, obvious focal point
Style that serves the meaning
FIG. 1 — MAIN ENTRANCE, AFTER
05 — CASE STUDY
Wayfinding, rebuilt from first principles
The old signage tried to say everything. We kept only what a visitor needs in three seconds — where am I, where next — and let one bold shape per floor do the rest.
−60%
fewer signs in the building
2×
faster to find the right room
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Thank
you.
Questions, ideas and critique all welcome.
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