Dieter Rams’ 10 principals of good design

From ’55 to ’97, Dieter Rams was head of design at Braün, which at the time was the Apple of the home gadget world.

Their stuff was so easy to use it “just worked”.

Their stuff lasted.

Their stuff was timeless in it’s aesthetic. How nice is this watch, it’s a re-release of a Rams ’70s design.

The saviour of product design Himself gave us some sacred commandments to design by. Commandments that apply whether you’re a product, web, graphic, or any other type of designer:

  1. Good design is innovative
  2. Good design makes a product useful
  3. Good design is aesthetic
  4. Good design makes a product understandable
  5. Good design is unobtrusive
  6. Good design is honest
  7. Good design is long-lasting
  8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail
  9. Good design is environmentally-friendly
  10. Good design is as little design as possible

Amen Dieter.