The 10 Commandments of Design
Photo: Living Room by Miss Jenny on Flickr
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Dieter Rams is most well known for his work as chief of design at Braun from 1961 – 1998. Many of his coffee makers, calculators, radios and consumer electronics have had a lasting impact on today’s product design including Jonathan Ive’s work at Apple. In the early 1980’s he published his design principles which then became known as the 10 Commandments of Design. These principles are themselves a wonderful example of good design – consise, thoughtful, clean. They have withstood the test of time and remain more relevant than ever. How are we designers doing, according to this list?
Good design is innovative
Good design makes a product useful
Good design is aesthetic
Good design makes a product understandable
Good design is unobtrusive
Good design is honest
Good design has longevity
Good design is consistent down to the last detail
Good design is environmentally friendly
Good design is as little design as possible
I am sitting in my living room in Vancouver, BC right now and I see several products that fit most of what Rams defines as good design: Sig water bottle, eames chair, iphone, stainless steel dog bowl, bamboo coasters. Out my window I can see several ‘living roofs”. I think designers today can have the biggest positive impact when they aim to develop new products that acheive the 9th principle: Good design is environmentally friendly.
UPDATE 05/06/09: I just saw the Gary Hustwit film Objectified last night in Vancouver and was super stoked to see Dieter Rams and the commandments featured. The audience Q&A also seemed really focused on the eco responsibility of designers. I found a podcast of a Q&A session from another screening, listen here.
