10 principles of good design

Dieter Rams was becoming increasingly concerned by the state of the world around him – an impenetrable confusion of forms, colours and noises.

As good design cannot be measured in a finite way he set about expressing the ten most important principles for what he considered was good design. Sometimes they are referred as the ‘Ten commandments’.

I believe designers should eliminate the unnecessary. That means eliminating everything that is modish because this kind of thing is only short-lived.

Rams

The possibilities for progression are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.

A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic criteria. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.

The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. 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 appear 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.

Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.

Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

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.

10 principles

Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design

With the combi DL5, Braun’s electric razor designs were slowly becoming more confident. The logo was made smaller and placed off to the side, letting the form do most of the talking. The grip striations of the previous model were refined into thin, more subtle grooves, which spoke of finer machining tolerances. The colored top of the 300 was ditched in favor of the original chrome finish, and a technological innovation was added: A fixed-position trimmer appeared on one side of the head, thus earning the ‘Combi’ title.