On Consistency

The hardest part of design is not making good decisions. It is making the same decision twice — and knowing when not to.

Inconsistency is visible. Users feel it before they name it. Something is off. The button is a slightly different shade. The spacing shifted. The tone of the copy changed. Individually these are small. Together they erode trust.

What consistency actually requires

It requires memory. You have to know what you decided before, and why. This is why design systems exist — not as aesthetic prescriptions, but as institutional memory.

It also requires restraint. The urge to improve each individual instance is natural and often wrong. A slightly better button in isolation might be a worse button in context.

When to break it

Consistency is a tool, not a law. The moment it becomes invisible is the moment it stops doing its job. Deliberate inconsistency — used sparingly — creates emphasis, hierarchy, delight.

The key word is deliberate. Break the pattern on purpose, and you make a point. Break it by accident, and you make a mess.