Good design, according to
Dieter Rams can be achieved by following his "10 Principles of Good
Design" which cover many different aspects of design, ranging from
aesthetics to sustainability.
Personally I believe 'good
design' must be original; this was noted in Rams' 10 Principles as innovative
design. Good design may challenge existing ideas but not always oppose them,
and if not in opposition to existing ideas, then good design should develop
upon these ideas and push them further.
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| Figure 1. Bags with non functioning zips and pockets |
To be 'good', design must
be necessary. "Good Design Is as Little Design as Possible." as well
as "Good Design Makes a Product Useful" are two of Rams' principles
of Good Design which I think are incredibly important to be considered by
designers and consumers alike. To demonstrate my point, I can use the opposite
of good design: bad design. To me, bad design is something that has not been
carefully considered, if the consumers' needs are not thought of by the
designer then there is no way a product or system can function well, thus the
design will be useless. At the same time, something that is badly designed
would be something that is complex, with many different elements that are not
cohesive or complimentary to the object and do not function neither alone or
together. An example of excessive aspects of a product can include fake pockets and fake zips that are non-functioning [Figure 1]. Excessive aspects of a product can not only over complicate things
and sacrifice the functionality of the product, but can also be detrimental to
the environment. More materials mean more manufacture is required, usually
meaning more fuel is used and thus a greater impact on the environment. As well
as more manufacture, this also means that there is more potential for waste and
by-products which lead to pollution and environmental damage.
This leads on to the idea
of dematerialisation; the total or partial reduction of materials without
sacrificing the quality of the product or the way it works. An example of a
dematerialised product is the Terra Chair [figure. 2], utilising entirely compostable
materials, essentially resulting in a chair that has used almost no materials,
working with just form and reshaping the natural environment. Good design
should include dematerialisation wherever possible; some of the best design is
less tangible, for instance, designing for behaviour change or the way a
consumer interacts with a product rather than focusing in on the physical
products or objects themselves. A recent example of designed behaviour change
is the 5p plastic bag tax, a simple yet incredibly effective method to
challenge and change the everyday actions of society.
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| Figure 2. The Terra Chair |
According to Rams, design
must be "understandable" to be good. I agree with this to an extent
as I think the best design is design that is accessible to all and not elitist
or discriminative, but at the same time I believe design should push boundaries
and ask questions as well as answer them.
The idea of what is good
design and what is not, is so subjective that I see good design as something
that it is not so easily categorised by a set of principles as design comes in
so many different forms and is present in every practice. I also believe there
are other possible “principles” that are neglected by Rams, such as good design
is timeless, multifunctional and not wasteful.
