Ten principles of good design

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design makes a product understandable.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is long-lasting.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Good design is environmentally friendly.
Good design is as little design as possible.

(C) Dieter Rams, amended March 2003 and October 2009
 
As head of design at Braun, the German consumer electronics manufacturer, DIETER RAMS (1932-) emerged as one of the most influential industrial designers of the late 20th century by defining an elegant, legible, yet rigorous visual language for its products.

His designs greatly inspire today's iconic household names such as Apple's Mac and i-phone as can be seen in the images below.

 

Apple's  iPhone (2007) and Dieter Rams' Brawn calculator (1978)

There is currently a Dieter Rams exhibition at The Design Museum in London, Less and More - The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams