This is a wrap-up on a ten-part series based on Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design. The Journal asked writers and illustrators to contribute to the project. Each writer wrote on one of Rams’ principles; each illustrator reacted to a writer’s essay.
Unfortunately, Mr Rams was not available for an interview. His thoughts on each principle, reproduced with permission from Vitsoe, come from conversation with Mark Adams, Managing Director of the furniture company.
Based on my experience as a designer, I have distilled the essentials of my design philosophy into ten principles. But these principles cannot be set in stone because, just as technology and culture are constantly developing, so are ideas about good design.
The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.
Good design makes a product useful.
A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.
The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
Good design makes a product understandable.
It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.
Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.
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.
It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today’s throwaway society.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
Good design is 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.
Good design is as little design as possible.
Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.
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What I enjoy so much about these Ten Principles is that they provide a practical approach to design and serve as very reasonable observational tools. In a previous post I made excerpting from Paul Rand’s book Design, Form and Chaos, I was thinking a lot about designers intuition and I think that these principles speak into that a lot. The principles operate in a way that allow room for intuition in addition to keeping design in check. Fortunately, they are laid out in a way that doesn’t allow people to look at the list as a how-to guide for design – and as far lists or manifestos such as these ten principles go, that’s not easy to escape.
The process in working with writers, thinkers and artists through this Rams series has been very refreshing and thought-provoking to work through. I am learning to take note of the way that people perceive objects – the way that object-based interaction takes place every day. This series has reminded me there are so many variables that are constantly in a state of flux. This in turn, just gives me another reason to appreciate good design when I see it.
Dieter Rams’ manifesto was forged from decades of experience. The context has changed, as the definition of design evolves and its scope widens to include new mediums. But Rams’ Principles remain undisputed by the writers: they debate what exactly each principle means, but they never negate them. This is a testament to the Rams’ Principle’s timeless quality.
I think the series as a whole provides a good cross-section of “design” today. The topics writers chose to discuss range from product design to typography to the internet. This is a pulse on the discipline, and we can tell that designers are, in fact, thinking about Good design, design that Dieter Rams realized. Aaron Heth tells it best when he wrote, “I think Rams’ principle should encourage us to simply ask more questions within our work.”
Dave and I are extremely thankful to the exceptional writers and illustrators who graciously contributed their invaluable thoughts and skills. The series would literally not exist without their work, no pun intended.
We are committed to on-going education through The Journal, and we’d love to hear what you have to say. Liked the series? Hated it? Have a suggestion? We want your feedback and critique because we’re always seeking to improve. So, leave a comment or send us an email at journal@inksie.com.
Useful tips. Thanks
Someone´s been watching Objectified…LOL…. =)
But that´s a great manifest for design. As I like to state myself, design is not an adjective, design is the whole sentence, the noun, the verb and the adjective.
It pisses me when I see ads about product that have a “modern design”…design is not only a way of looking or a sense of aesthetics…it´s way more than that.
Using Mr. Steve Jobs to finish, “design is not how it looks or how it feels, design it´s how it works”.
@Marcelo – Haha, actually neither of us have seen Objectified. Although it’s on my list of films to watch.
Agreed. It can be frustrating when people assume an object exhibits beautiful “modern design” by way of aesthetic. I’m glad you brought this point up, I think it’s an important topic. Expect to see a post on this soon.