Don’t confuse legibility with communication

I’m playing Gary Hustwit’s documentary Helvetica in the background and my ears perked up when I heard this from David Carson:

Don’t confuse legibility with communication.

Just because something is legible doesn’t mean it communicates. And, more importantly, doesn’t mean it communicates the right thing.

also

There’s a very thin line between simple, clean and powerful, and simple, clean and boring.