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 towards the consumer.
Dieter RamsRead
Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good design focuses on functionality and minimizes distractions.
Dieter Rams emphasizes that effective design should prioritize the practical use of a product, stripping away any unnecessary elements that may hinder its functionality. This principle advocates for simplicity and utility, suggesting that the best designs enhance the user experience without superfluous embellishments.
Themes
DesignFunctionalitySimplicityUsefulnessUser Experience
In practice
Example use cases
In a design conference, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of usability in product design.
More from Dieter Rams
All quotes βMy goal is to omit everything superfluous so that the essential is shown to best possible advantage.
Dieter RamsRead
You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people; design is made for people.
Dieter RamsRead
Design should not dominate things, should not dominate people. It should help people. That's its role.
Dieter RamsRead
My heart belongs to the details. I actually always found them to be more important than the big picture. Nothing works without details. They are everything, the baseline of quality.
Dieter RamsRead
Things which are different in order simply to be different are seldom better, but that which is made to be better is almost always different.
Dieter RamsRead
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We won't do something different for different's sake. Designers cave in to marketing, to the corporate agenda, which is sort of, 'Oh, it looks like the last one; can't we make it look different?' Well no, there's no reason to.
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It is sad that so many designers don't know how to make. CAD software can make a bad design look palatable! It is sad that four years can be spent on a 3D design course without making anything! People who are great at designing and making have a great advantage.
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I am passionate about what design can do - how far it can support the new ideas and the new ways of living of this 21st Century. Good design accelerates this exciting future where manufacturing is local, materials and processes are cradle to cradle, business models are both socially and financially driven.
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If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools; one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page... When it is a good design, the reader has to feel comfortable because the letter is both banal and beautiful.
Adrian FrutigerRead
Design needs to be plugged into human behavior. Design dissolves in behavior.
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