Ten principles of good design
Good design is as little design as possible
Dieter Rams, the legendary German industrial designer, is best known for his work at Braun and formulating the Ten Principles of Good Design. These guidelines deeply shaped modern design thinking, including Apple’s minimalist philosophy. In the 1950s, Dieter Rams joined Braun which, at the time, was a modest post-war electronics firm. Early on, he proposed a radically minimal radio, stripped of ornament and focused on function. His boss protested, It looks unfinished. Dieter replied, It looks honest. That design became a bestseller and marked the start of a design revolution. Over the next 30 years, Dieter Rams transformed Braun’s products, including radios, shavers and speakers, into sleek, intuitive and timeless tools. Steve Jobs later cited Dieter Rams as a key influence. At the core of Dieter Rams’ philosophy was an intriguing idea: Good design is as little design as possible.
Dieter Rams’ ten design principles
Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is the one and only cardinal sin in design. - Dieter Rams
Dieter Rams laid down ten principles that serve as a beacon for exceptional design. He said good design embodies the following qualities:
Innovative: Technological development always offers new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology and can never be an end in and of itself.
Makes a product useful: A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy not only functional but also psychological and aesthetic criteria. Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product while disregarding anything that could detract from it.
Aesthetic: The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our wellbeing. But only well executed objects can be beautiful.
Makes a product understandable: It clarifies the product's structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.
Unobtrusive: Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Therefore, their design should be both neutral and restrained to leave room for the user's self-expression.
Honest: It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
Long-lasting: It avoids being fashionable and, therefore, never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years, even in today's throwaway society.
Thorough: Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect toward the user.
Environmentally friendly: Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimises physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
As little design as possible: Less, but better, because it concentrates on the essential aspects and the products are not burdened with non-essentials.
Implementing Dieter Rams’ design principles
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. - Jony Ive
I’m designing a web based tool called Daily Product Idea. It will serve up a new startup idea everyday based on market signals and trend analysis. Here’s how I’m applying Dieter Rams’ design principles:
Innovative: The site takes a fresh approach to trend-spotting by uncovering product ideas from curated online conversations, combining social listening with commercial insight.
Useful: Every element serves the core function: helping users discover viable product opportunities quickly.
Aesthetic: Clean typography, spacious layout and consistent visual hierarchy give the site a modern, calming appeal that invites repeated use.
Understandable: The interface is intuitive; users immediately grasp what the site does. Each idea is presented clearly with relevant and contextual information.
Unobtrusive: The design gets out of the user’s way. The content, the daily product idea, takes centre stage.
Honest: There’s no over-promising or hidden features. The site presents its value plainly: new ideas every day, transparently sourced and clearly described.
Long-lasting: By avoiding trendy UI gimmicks and focusing on function, the design can endure changes in design fashion without feeling dated.
Thorough: Thoughtful touches like concise tags, readable fonts and clear Calls To Action show care in execution, making the experience feel polished and deliberate.
Environmentally friendly: The lightweight, minimal site structure reduces server load and energy consumption.
As little design as possible: The interface is stripped down to its essence.
Other resources
Ten Principles of Good Design talk by Daniel Titchener
Five Design Laws Informed by Psychology post by Phil Martin
Five More Design Principles Informed by Psychology post by Phil Martin
I aim for what Dieter Rams advocated: The simpler the design, the more universal it becomes.
Have fun.
Phil…
excellent read