Ten Principles of Good Design

Good design is innovative

Technology always offers new opportunities. Innovation in design and technology develop in tandem.

Good design makes a product useful

A product is bought to be used. Design emphasizes usefulness and disregards anything that detracts from it.

Good design is aesthetic

We use products every day. They affect our well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

Good design makes a product understandable

It clarifies the product's structure. At best, it is self-explanatory.

Good design is unobtrusive

Products are tools, not decorations. Their design should be neutral and restrained, leaving room for the user.

Good design is honest

It does not make a product appear more than it is. No manipulation, no false promises.

Good design is long-lasting

It avoids fashion and never appears antiquated. It lasts many years.

Good design is thorough down to the last detail

Nothing arbitrary. Care and accuracy show respect towards the user.

Good design is environmentally friendly

It conserves resources and minimizes pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

Good design is as little design as possible

Less, but better. Back to purity, back to simplicity.

“Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.”

— Dieter Rams