Good Design
The 10 Principles of Good Design
Good design is innovative
Dieter believes good design can’t be derivative. It MUST push our understanding of an object forward. We must advance step by step from from Plato’s cave into the daylight with each iteration of some design.
Weighty concepts for designing a kettle, or a lamp. But everything you see that’s been touched by human hands has been designed with purpose, and if we don’t push for progress continuously — we risk stagnation and decline.
Good design makes a product useful
Expanding beyond the function of a product, Dieter touches on the role well designed products play in our identities, self perceptions, and the psychological natures of things.
For example people often buy expensive cars to portray themselves as wealthy. They define their self image through their possessions. It seems shallow but we do it continuously. People with Macs report feeling more creative.
Good design is aesthetic
Don Norman in DoET discusses affordances. These are what the design of an object naturally affords.
Think the big and small hole in a pair scissors. Without anyone explaining a thing to you, you’re able to fit your hand perfectly into the handle and begin using them. That’s an example of a pure design with no fat, and one that uses design to explain everything about the product.
