HEROES--Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams did for product design what Mies van der Rohe did for architecture. Rams simplified it, refined it, and elevated it to art. That is a monumental achievement for a guy who made record players and electric razors.

Rams had ten principles of good design. Here they are:

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.

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.

Is aesthetic - 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.

Makes a product understandable - 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Those ten principles are nothing short of awesome. They can be applied not just to product design but almost anything you do. It is a simple philosophy, but it is supreme. If you want to know how to make something well, there is your blueprint right there.

Unfortunately, Dieter Rams was an original, and few people actually attempt to emulate his style or ethos. The most notable exception is Jonathan Ive at Apple who openly designed his work as a sort of homage to Dieter Rams.



There's not much left to say for Rams because his work speaks for itself. The reason Dieter Rams is a hero is because he championed simplicity. He made products that were great, and the reason they were great is because they were simple. We would all do well to emulate that simplicity.

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