When to Use This Pattern
• Too many options slowing decisions
• Output feels scattered or inconsistent
• Analysis paralysis blocking progress
• Team debates the same choices repeatedly
• Choose constraints deliberately (not by accident)
• Document them visibly
• Master them before expanding
• Let constraints eliminate decisions
How It Works
When everything is possible, nothing is clear. When boundaries are set, creativity focuses. This isn’t restriction—it’s liberation from endless negotiation.
In software: a limited component library forces consistency. A restricted color palette creates visual harmony. A fixed grid system makes layout decisions automatic.
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”
— Orson Welles
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”
Four Rules for Working with Constraints
Don’t accept accidental limitations. Select constraints that serve your goals. Rams chose “less, but better” because it aligned with his vision of honest design.
✓ Black and white palette (forces focus on typography)
✓ Single typeface (forces hierarchy through weight/size)
✓ 5-component limit (forces composition creativity)
The Eameses spent years with plywood before touching fiberglass. Depth comes from constraint mastery, not from breadth of options.
✓ Build 10 projects with the same stack
✓ Use one framework until you hit its limits
✓ Exhaust simple solutions before adding complexity
Document your constraints. Make them explicit. When the team knows the boundaries, decisions become faster and more consistent.
✓ Design system with explicit rules
✓ Architecture decision records
✓ Style guides that say “no” more than “yes”
Decision fatigue kills velocity. When constraints eliminate options, execution accelerates. Less time debating, more time building.
✓ Pre-selected technology stack
✓ Established naming conventions
✓ Template-based starting points
When to Apply
• Starting a new design system
• Team lacks decision-making velocity
• Output feels scattered or inconsistent
• Analysis paralysis is slowing progress
• You want to develop depth over breadth
• Constraints are accidental, not chosen
• Limitations serve ego, not users
• You’re avoiding necessary complexity
• The constraint no longer serves the goal
• Mastery has been achieved; time to expand
Examples from the Masters
Not 7, not 15. Exactly 10 principles that governed decades of work at Braun. The constraint of 10 forced each principle to earn its place.
A palette of three materials. Barcelona Pavilion, Farnsworth House, Seagram Building—all from the same constraint, each utterly distinct.
1941-1956: fifteen years of plywood exploration before the famous fiberglass chairs. The constraint became the foundation of their entire practice.
Related Patterns
Constraints emerge through reduction. Start broad, remove until only essential remains.
Constraints become defaults. Every limitation traces to a principle.