#10 Good Design is as Little Design as Possible
Less is better -- because it concentrates on the essential aspects and the products are not burdened with inessentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity!
Dieter Ram's 10th principle addresses design on multiple levels in terms of philosophy and aesthetics. What does he mean by inessentials and does this change by culture and time? Who is to judge?
I'm searching for good examples. Please stay tuned.
#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 life cycle of the product.
Bamboo Umbrella
The Brelli Umbrella
An umbrella is not given a lot of thought until we need it. How many times during a rainstorm do we see the discarded skeletons of collapsed metal and fabric? Sometimes we need to look back at traditional methods and designs to see if new technologies are actually better.
The Brelli Umbrella replaces the traditional lacquered paper canopy bamboo umbrella with a bio-degradable plasic film canopy. Light and flexible, bamboo is actually superior to steel in strong winds. The bamboo framework, refined over centuries, appeals to all the senses -- visually slender and graceful, smooth to the touch, fragrant when wet, and mellow sounding when struck. All compostable when its useful life is over.
#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 toward the consumer.
Apple Store - 4th Street Berkeley
I've spent a long time trying to find a good example for Dieter Rams Principle #8 - Good Design is thorough down to the last detail. Apple products were the obvious example that came to mind, but I tried not to go with the obvious. Last week I walked into the Apple Store on 4th Street in Berkeley and decided to use the Apple Store itself.
Everything about the store is designed with the customer's experience in mind. Everything is detailed to highlight the experience rather than detract. The front facade is transparent almost dissolving the barrier between inside and outside. What is apparent to the passerby is a gleaming space filled with multiple Apple products turned on and ready to be used. Almost always filled with people as sales representatives breeze by to answer questions and complete a sale on the spot without taking another step.
One of the many details I've examined in the Apple stores are the understated and elegant grey floor tiles. I first thought they were concrete tiles -- but there was a certain presence about them that made me want to stare. Finally I asked about them and was told they were granite tiles and Steven Jobs had a private quarry to maintain a consistent private supply of these tiles for his stores. That is attention to detail!
#7
Good Design is Long Lasting
It avoids being fashionable and there never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years -- even in today's throw-away society.
Thonet 214 Chair
The bentwood Thonet Chair 214 is over 150 years old and one of the first mass-produced products still in production today. A seamless integration of natural products and production techniques, the wood is steam-bent into the required shape. There are six parts to the chair that are screwed today making it easy to ship in a flat carton to be assembled in a distant location.
The design has been around for so long, most people don't give it another thought and it seems to fit nicely into so many different places.
#6
Good Design is Unobtrusive
Product fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained in order to leave room for the user's self expression.
Steel Wok
This principle gave me pause for thought because of the addition of the terms, "
neutral and restrained in order to leave room for the user's self-expression". Finally after considering several items, I decided to use a Chinese wok as an example of the principal. A wok has absolutely nothing extra added. Everything has a purpose. Curved high sides and thin carbon steel that heats quickly are perfect for Chinese cooking. From stir-frying, braising, simmering soups, deep frying, to frying an egg -- all can be done with this one simple item. The only change from the traditional wok is a slightly flattened bottom to better fit modern stoves.
Round without any decoration and with two simple handles, that's it. With a wok, everything depends on the use and skill of the cook -- the ultimate self-expression. With proper care, the wok will ultimately develop a non-stick patina. Entire books have been written on the care and use of a wok, the most recent being,
Breath of a Wok, by Grace Young. After I photographed this wok, I began to appreciate its simple form and refined design even more.
#5
Good Design is Honest
It does not make a product more innovative, powerful, or valuable than it really is. It is not an attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
Egg Beater
This old egg beater is a perfect example of "Good Design is Honest". It's simple and straight forward and is designed to do one thing only. Clearly it doesn't promise more than it can deliver and is elegant in it honesty.
#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.
Oxo Dustpan and Brush
Oxo makes many small household products for cooking and cleaning. Handles have a soft rubberized coating for easier and more comfortable gripping. Generally well designed, many are quite good looking.
My favorite is the
Oxo dustpan with integrated brush. The handle of the brush with a matching hole of the dust pan fairly beg to be nestled together. They never need to separated. Find one, find the other. The red Oxo logo on the face of the brush lets you know which face of the brush should be facing out so that it nestles properly. The combed edge of the dustpan helps you clean those clinging particles from the brush -- all of this makes the product talk and is self-explanatory.
#3
Good Design is Aesthetic
The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use everyday affect our person and our well-being. Only well executed products can be beautiful.
Savannah Rocker by Jolyson Yates
The
Savannah Rocker by Jolyson Yates was the best example I could find of a product that is beautifully executed and is pared to its simplicity of form. It's truly beautiful and successful on many levels. Notice how the flowing lines recall the actual movement of a rocking chair.
Now that I've been trying to find items that meet Dieter Rams Ten Principles for Good Design, I'm finding that once I find a good example for one principle, they seem to also fit into other principles as well.
#2
Good Design Makes a Product Useful
A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product while disregarding anything that could possible detract from it.
Parsons Table
A Parsons Table is an example of design stripped to the bare essentials of its function with nothing else. The function of a table is to provide a level raised surface. In the Parsons Table you have a level flat surface and 4 legs to support it up off the floor. The basic rule of the Parsons Table is that the legs are rectangular and the width of the legs matches the thickness the top surface. The legs and surfaces are the same material and the legs are placed at the corners flush with the edge of the table. If you get the proportions right, you have a very simple and elegant design.
Altered Parsons Table
Some designers have made seemingly minor adjustments to these principles by using two different materials or by recessing a portion of the top. Look carefully at these minor changes and see how they detract from the expression of the simple function of a table. Its no wonder that the Parsons Table continues to be produced for 80 years after it was designed.
Last week I posted on Who is Dieter Ram and why is he important?
This is the first exploration of
Dieter Rams Ten Principles for Good Design 
#1
Good Design is Innovative
The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technical 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. Johanna Schoemaker
Clam OLED Light Fixture
Designer Johanna Schoemaker has designed an award winning light fixture that embodies Dieter Ram's First Principle of Innovation. She used a newly developed product, organic light emmitting diodes or OLED's. The organic LED's are quite different from the LED fixtures that are on the market now. Microscopic thin layers of organic materials emit light when given an electric charge. The product is so thin that the concept of a light bulb and a separate housing for the bulb has almost merged into one object. This is a great example how design develops in tandem with technology.
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