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Dieter Rams 10 Principles of Good Design 2

Dieter Rams outlined 10 principles for good design: 1) Good design is innovative by developing in tandem with technology. 2) Good design makes products useful by emphasizing usefulness and disregarding distractions. 3) Good design is aesthetic by ensuring products are well-executed and beautiful. 4) Good design makes products understandable by clarifying their structure and being self-explanatory.
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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
1K views87 pages

Dieter Rams 10 Principles of Good Design 2

Dieter Rams outlined 10 principles for good design: 1) Good design is innovative by developing in tandem with technology. 2) Good design makes products useful by emphasizing usefulness and disregarding distractions. 3) Good design is aesthetic by ensuring products are well-executed and beautiful. 4) Good design makes products understandable by clarifying their structure and being self-explanatory.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Less, but better.

Ten principles for good design


by dieter rams

DAVID RHYNE
Senior UX Designer
[email protected]
http://dazid.net
@dazidrhyne
why do design principles matter?
power & specificity

flexibility & availability


power & specificity

user
testing

flexibility & availability


power & specificity

user user
testing research

flexibility & availability


power & specificity

user user design


testing research principles

flexibility & availability


design principles are readily available and extremely flexible
Dieter Rams
Industrial designer and design
thought leader
Born May 20th, 1932
Employed by Braun, and Vitsœ
jony ive on dieter rams
“Surfaces that were without apology, bold, pure,
perfectly-proportioned, coherent and effortless.”
jony ive on dieter rams
“No part appeared to be either hidden or celebrated, just perfectly
considered and completely appropriate in the hierarchy of the
product’s details and features. At a glance, you knew exactly
what it was and exactly how to use it.”
jony ive on dieter rams
Weniger, aber besser.
Less, but better.
Less, when better.
Now, the ten principles.
Now, the ten principles.
(with some real world and digital examples)
Now, the ten principles.
(I’m going to read a lot)
1
Good design is innovative

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.
1 Good design is innovative
1 Good design is innovative

technology
1 Good design is innovative


good design

technology
1 Good design is innovative


good design

technology innovation
2
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 emphasizes
the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding
anything that could possibly detract from it.
2
Good design makes a
product useful
2 Good design makes a product useful

Level
2 Good design makes a product useful

Level
 Emphasizes the usefulness of a product
2 Good design makes a product useful

Level
 Emphasizes the usefulness of a product
 Disregards anything that could possibly
detract from it
3
Good design is aesthetic

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.
3 Good design is aesthetic
3 Good design is aesthetic
3 Good design is aesthetic
3 Good design is aesthetic
4
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.
4
Good design makes a
product understandable
4 Good design makes a product understandable

The iPhone
4 Good design makes a product understandable

The iPhone
 Clarifies its own structure
4 Good design makes a product understandable

The iPhone
 Clarifies its own structure
 Is self-explanatory
5
Good design is unobtrusive

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.
5
Good design is unobtrusive
5 Good design is unobtrusive
5 Good design is unobtrusive

Pinterest
5 Good design is unobtrusive

Pinterest
 Is neutral and restrained
5 Good design is unobtrusive

Pinterest
 Is neutral and restrained
 Leaves room for the user’s
self-expression
6
Good design is 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.
6 Good design is honest
6 Good design is honest

Windows Phone
6 Good design is honest

Windows Phone
 “Authentically digital”
6 Good design is honest

Windows Phone
 “Authentically digital”
 Does not attempt to manipulate the
consumer with promises that cannot
be kept.
7
Good design is long-lasting

It avoids being fashionable and therefore never


appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design,
it lasts many years – even in today’s throwaway
society.
7
Good design is long-lasting
7 Good design is long-lasting
7 Good design is long-lasting

Horizontal navigation
7 Good design is long-lasting

Horizontal navigation
 Avoids being fashionable
7 Good design is long-lasting

Horizontal navigation
 Avoids being fashionable
 Doesn’t appear antiquated
8
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 user.
8
Good design is thorough
down to the last detail
8
Good design is thorough
down to the last detail
8
Good design is thorough
down to the last detail
8 Good design is thorough down to the last detail

Tumblr

Allows username modification
 Suggests an autogenerated name to get
you started quickly
8 Good design is thorough down to the last detail

Slack
 Shows appropriately-colored boxes next
to hex codes
8 Good design is thorough down to the last detail

InVision
 Detects high-resolution files
 Works with @2x convention to
automatically scale high-DPI images
9
Good design is
environmentally-friendly
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.
9
Good design is
environmentally-friendly
9 Good design is environmentally-friendly

Cargo Collective
9 Good design is environmentally-friendly

Cargo Collective
 Is sensitive to its environment
9 Good design is environmentally-friendly

Cargo Collective
 Is sensitive to its environment
 Minimizes visual polution
10
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.


10
Good design is as little
design as possible
10
Good design is as little design as possible
10
Good design is as little design as possible


10
Good design is as little design as possible

Amazon Echo
10
Good design is as little design as possible

Amazon Echo
 Presents clear navigation and
pertinent, high level details
10
Good design is as little design as possible

Amazon Echo
 Presents clear navigation and
pertinent, high level details
 Provides a call to action
10
Good design is as little design as possible

Amazon Echo
 Presents clear navigation and
pertinent, high level details
 Provides a call to action
 Is as little design as possible
what have we learned?
Be helpful.
Be helpful.
good design is useful, innovative, honest, long-lasting,
and conscious of its environment
Be thoughtful.
Be thoughtful.
good design is aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive,
thorough, and as little design as possible
Stop thinking of yourself as
a UX designer.
Stop thinking of yourself as
a visual designer.
Stop thinking of yourself as
a web designer.
Think of yourself as someone
who is helpful and thoughtful.
Think of yourself as a designer.
“Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
dieter rams
Thank you.

DAVID RHYNE
Senior UX Designer
[email protected]
http://dazid.net
@dazidrhyne

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