# Ten principles for good design > Dieter Rams의 열 가지 규칙. 의 열 가지 규칙. ## Principles 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 ## Steph Ango [Obsidian](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Obsidian.txt)을 만들고 있는 의 [의견](https://x.com/kepano/status/2116561833385709821). > Picking nits with Dieter Rams's 10 rules. I wrote this in 2016 but never published it. My list: > > 1. **Good design challenges the status quo**: New designs should bring new ideas, otherwise, why create something new? I would push Dieter's thought even further. Good design challenges the way things currently work. "Good design is innovative" leaves too much room for misinterpretation. A product shouldn't be innovative for the sake of being innovative. It should be innovative in a way that pushes humanity forward. It must not only bring novelty, but bring greater quality of life to as many people as possible. > 2. **Good design is useful**: I think Dieter has his syntax backwards, perhaps it was lost in translation? I think he means to say that products that exhibit good design have usefulness. My nit is that good design cannot make a bad idea useful. A product is useful if it solves a problem. The usefulness is determined by the function of the product, therefore good design helps achieve the potential usefulness of an idea. > 3. **Good design is elegant**: I have a love/hate relationship with this rule. In general terms, I agree that good design should strive towards beauty. It should attempt to make things more beautiful. The challenge of course, is that this rule is more subjective than any other rule on the list. The second problem, is that making things beautiful at the expense of functionality, or understandability is a dangerous path. These rules are not ranked in any order, yet every design is a series of compromises striving for the best balance between the relevant criteria. > 4. **Good design is intuitive**: Keep it simple :) > 5. **Good design is cohesive**: This is a slippery slope. Unobtrusiveness is not a necessary component of good design. How would you describe a well-designed fence? Isn't a fence's purpose to be obtrusive? If you mean visually obtrusive, think of the fire extinguisher. A well-designed fire extinguisher must be bold and visually obtrusive in order to perform its function. You might say these are exceptions that prove the rule — if most products aren't designed to be unobtrusive, then the fire extinguisher cannot be made to stand out. I would argue that we can come up with a more universal phrase. If you want a direct replacement: ""Good design fits its environment" But in my opinion this rule can be replaced entirely with cohesiveness — both internal and external (will write more on this later) > 6. **Good design is honest**: (no change) Great rule if you know the modernist definition of honesty. Confusing if you don't. In this case, honesty refers to designing within the constraints of a medium, material, manufacturing process, context. This is maybe my favorite rule. > 7. **Good design is timeless**: Oh boy. I could write a book about this one. Good design should be long-lasting, unless it shouldn't. The definition of "long" is ambiguous. How long-lasting should a well-designed clock be compared to say, a shopping bag? Some things should be designed to last just long enough. Dieter means to say that products should continue being useful as long as possible. Products should not deteriorate due to planned obsolescence, poor construction, and should be designed in a timeless way that does not fall out of fashion. > 8. **Good design is thorough down to the last detail**: (no change) Nailed it. > 9. **Good design is sustainable**: This rule was ahead of its time, but today it should be expanded to cover the broader spectrum of sustainability. Not only should good design be ecologically and environmentally sound, it should also respect the social welfare of the people who make and use the product. My personal feeling is that being net neutral on sustainability should be the baseline, and that truly good design should strive to be a net positive — it should make the planet a better place. > 10. **Good design is as little design as possible**: (no change) The wording is cute, but I like that, and it's the perfect place to end.