What The Pixies taught me about design

Breaking the Grid: Lessons from The Pixies

The Pixies are a masterclass in controlled chaos. Before I continue, let's just get this out of the way: The Pixies rule all, but without Kim, they are NOT The Pixies, I said what I said.

The Click and the Grid

For you non-musicians, a click track is a metronome running in the background to keep the band on a set time. The "click" is basically the "grid" in music.

In the early days, the Pixies used offbeat time signatures and often recorded without a click track. This made their music feel raw, alive, and unpredictable. I know this firsthand—for hot second, I was in a Pixies cover band, and trying to force their songs onto a click track killed the magic. You simply must play this music by feel.

Sometimes, breaking the grid in design is an excellent choice. Studies show that the human eye is drawn to symmetry, but it will fixate on it longer. So, asymmetry is a way to "break the spell"; slight irregularities can add dynamism and draw the eye.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

Source: Dada data, broken grid website

A time to nerd. The Pixies' "Tame"

"Tame" (from Doolittle, 1989).

This song is a fun exploration of "Pixies time" (also check out "Break my body)

• The verses alternate between 4/4 and 3/4.

• The bassline and vocals almost fight against the structure rather than locking in tightly.

• At [0:07]: The drums cut out unexpectedly, emphasizing a shift in the phrasing.

• The chorus returns to a solid 4/4, creating a grounding effect before diving back into chaos.
  
  

Why It Works Musically & In UX Design

• The irregular time signature in the verses adds tension and unease, making the chorus feel like a satisfying resolution.

• Similar to breaking the grid in UX design, this irregularity grabs attention and makes an element stand out.

• A structured grid (the chorus with its 4/4 time) acts as an anchor, much like a clear design hierarchy in an interface.

  
  

The Power of Constraint

I grew up playing music. I remember Sister Stella banging her gnarled, arthritic finger on the piano to try and keep my awkward, 6-year-old fingers in time. Still, I had not incorporated a metronome or click into my grown-up practice. When I started working with the fantastic producer Steve Gillis (Transient Sound), who recommended the band practice to the click, I worried it would kill the vibe. But as I began to play with it, I discovered the opposite—structure was freeing. Instead of rushing tempos to build energy, I learned to create tension and dynamics within the beat. The emotion came more intentionally and powerfully.

The audience connected with the song when my drummer played it to a click. However, because of the inconsistent timing, we didn't engage them. This is like subtle design issues on a website—users may not pinpoint the problem, but something feels off, making the experience less enjoyable.

Punk rock and David Carson

David Carson, NIN Cover

I'm going to be honest, dear readers—I’m a painter, not your prototypical designer. Design has been a necessary skill (have you seen the price of oil paint?) and an unexpected companion in my life. When I feel like an outsider in the design world, I gravitate toward designers like David Carson, whose work speaks to my '90s-soaked alt-rock heart. He breaks the grid with the ease of the Pixies and the chaotic grace of Franz Kline.

So, I'll proudly draw on the essential guardrails of Zeldman and Cederholm—not as constraints, but as the rhythm section that keeps the song from falling apart, allowing me to improvise and make something uniquely my own.

The last note

I wrote an article a while back called "That Single Woo". Inspired by a quote from one of my favorite movies, "Almost Famous," where Russel Hammond talks about a single "woo" in "What's going on?" by Marvin Gaye. Asymmetry is that single woo. Breaking the grid can be your "single woo". It's the single woo that sticks with us, but it's the grid that makes the "woo" magic.