Dieter Rams: Ten Principles for Good Design

Ever since watching Gary Hustwit’s documentary Objectified, I have been very interested in Dieter Rams. Rams was a designer for Braun and the objects that he helped design for the company are timeless. Rams’ designs even inspired Steve Jobs and Jony Ive of Apple. The calculator on your iPhone is at least partially inspired by the Braun ET44 calculator.

Dieter Rams developed ten principles for good design. Those principles are…

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

I plan on exploring each one of Dieter Rams’ principles of design in upcoming posts. Until then, feel free to read more about the ideas at Vitsoe.

If you are interested in learning more about Rams, Gary Hustwit’s newest film about Rams would be a great resource. Learn more about the film and watch trailers here.