I recently came across The Donut Project's "Good Fucking Design Advice" website which actually brought a smile to my face and is actually quite accurate in terms of stating (boldly) what it takes to be a good (fucking) designer. One can absorb such profane pearls such as "A computer is a Lite-Brite for bad fucking ideas", "Find fucking inspiration everywhere" and the always brilliant "Stay up all fucking night". If you are so inclined, you can even pick up a poster suitable for framing.
As an instructor, I have often repeated these design rules over and over again (on rare occasions eliminating the profanity) but, for my money the best design advice would have to be Bruce Mau's Manifesto which can be viewed here. Know it. Learn it. Live it, Baby.
