Adding Constraints ❎
Hello makers,
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, adding constraints to your work can sometimes push it to the next level.
Constraints by example
What better way to explain how constraints can elevate your work than to take a look at some projects and makers that have done this exceptionally well.
Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote
Chuck Jones established 9 rules for all the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote interactions. These are as follows:
The Road Runner cannot harm the coyote except by going “Beep-Beep.”
No outside force can harm the coyote – only his own ineptitude or the failure of the ACME products.
The coyote could stop anytime – If he were not a fanatic.
No dialogue ever, except “Beep-Beep!”
The Road Runner must stay on the road.
All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters.
All materials, tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the ACME corporation.
Whenever possible, make gravity the coyote’s greatest enemy.
The coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
The Road Runner and the Coyote's relationship is simple, and it's this simplicity, these rules or constraints, that make their interactions so hilarious.
Diana Smith
Diana Smith is a web developer and artist who creates detailed portraits and artwork using only CSS. Here, the medium itself is the constraint. Check out some of her artwork:
Picasso's Blue Period
Between 1901 and 1904, Pablo Picasso painted exclusively monochromatic paintings in shades of blue. These turned out to be some of his most popular works. The subject matter is somber, often depicting beggars, prostitutes, and drunks, and are inspired by the suicide death of his friend in 1901. By limiting both his color palette and content, Picasso produced a cohesive, iconic body of work that stands the test of time.
Twitter
When Twitter launched in 2006, its creators placed a limit of 140 characters on each tweet. This constraint was born of necessity since the original concept needed to work with SMS messaging, which had severe limits on data length. But the character constraint proved the defining characteristic of tweeting, producing bite-size pieces of content in a feed format, and has resulted in a unique medium for writing and consuming content. Although this character limit has been expanded to 280 characters, the constraint continues to be the most important aspect of the Twitter platform.
Thinking about constraints
The next time you're brainstorming a project, take a moment to consider what constraints could be applied to your work. By adding constraints, you may just discover the secret sauce that elevates the end result to something greater.
Keep making, and thanks for reading! 🙌
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Until next week,
Craig 👋