No. 22 “What problem are we solving?”

why are we doing this, before colors?

Before anyone picks colors, fonts or layouts, agree on the problem.

One clear sentence makes every design decision easier. Even the colors.

Write the problem in one sentence first.

There’s no single origin. Defining the problem first is old wisdom in design & engineering.

The famous “spend 55 minutes on the problem, 5 on the solution” line gets pinned on Einstein. There’s no evidence he said it.

The earliest version found: 1966, credited to an unnamed Yale professor.

• Quote Investigator, “I Would Spend 55 Minutes Defining the Problem…” (2014)

Save this for the next time a kickoff starts with “so, what colors?”