Good Design

Your constantly-updated definition of Good Design and collection of videos and articles
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What is Good Design?

Good design is a concept defined by industrial designer Dieter Rams’s principles: It makes a product useful and understandable, is innovative, aesthetic, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, thorough to the last detail, environmentally friendly, and involves as little design as possible. Designers strive for good design.

“You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people.”

— Dieter Rams

Discover what good design truly involves.

Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design

The Timeless Appeal of Good Design

The term “good design” sounds deceptively self-evident. As something for designers to practice, it begs the question of what it involves as a clear set of elements. Design is a field where we understand, communicate with and enhance the world around us, particularly by improving people’s lives. Indeed, the cost of bad design is frustrated users and a damaged brand name.

Image depicting Dieter Rams in his office

© Gary Hustwit and Film First, Fair-Use

Dieter Rams, a German industrial designer renowned for his less-but-better approach to design, addressed the nature of good design to determine exactly what it requires of designers. Rams’s influence is far-reaching, having helped shape how most consumer products used in the late 20th and early 21st centuries look and work. From alarm clocks to toothbrushes, coffeemakers and far beyond, Rams’s hallmarks surround us. His aesthetics stand for honesty, restraint and simplicity. In the late 1970s, Rams studied the world around him—finding “an impenetrable confusion of forms, colors and noises”—and asked himself this essential question: “Is my design good design?” Rams’s answer is expressed in his ten principles, whereby good design:

  1. Is innovative.

  2. Makes a product useful.

  3. Is aesthetic.

  4. Makes a product understandable.

  5. Is unobtrusive.

  6. Is honest.

  7. Is long-lasting.

  8. Is thorough down to the last detail.

  9. Is environmentally friendly.

  10. Involves as little design as possible.

Image depicting the ten principles of good design

© Daniel Skrok and Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0

How to Pursue Good Design to Produce Great Designs

Throughout your design process, these points are crucial to remember:

  1. Strive for innovation. The world is always progressing, and technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. Being innovative in design means moving alongside the developments in innovative technology. So, try to keep in step with those developments rather than attempt a novel design for the sake of it.

  2. Let form follow function, alongside the psychological and aesthetic aspects for your users. Products (and services) are bought to be used. Users/customers want to enjoy good experiences (or at least be spared from frustrating ones) and have expectations for you to satisfy. Your design’s usefulness means nothing should detract from that usefulness.  

  3. Go for good looks and sensations. The products we use every day affect our personal well-being. So, if your design is around users and is something you’ve crafted well, they’ll enjoy it all the more if it’s beautiful.

  4. Make your design speak clearly. An intuitive look and feel will inform users what to do with your design. If you can coax them to cross that magic bridge where they take to your product without having to stop to think (i.e., become confused), you’ll optimize how they can achieve their goals with it.

  5. Make it unobtrusive. Your design serves a purpose; being pretty for decoration’s sake isn’t it. It’s up to the users to express themselves through your design. That’s why a neutral and restrained approach works, why clean and simple aesthetics help users.

  6. Keep it honest and upfront. Users want promises kept, not false hopes dangled before them, so your design should only be as innovative, powerful and/or valuable as it claims to be. When you consider the solution/s it offers to what problems and design for those, you can help maintain this balance.

  7. Keep it unfashionably in style. Good design never looks dated or antiquated. Classic, clean looks help prevent the unwanted signature styling that pegs a product to an era and makes it discardable.

  8. Keep an eye on the finest details. When you pay attention to the tiniest elements, it tells users you cared enough to follow them on their list of design wants. This could be anything from an extra button on a wearable device to a failsafe feature that shows users all their activity and messages. So, know your users and aim to please them to the maximum degree and alleviate their worries.

  9. Conserve the environment. The world’s problems are complex, and pollution can arise from wasted resources throughout your product’s lifecycle. The big-picture view means creating more devices we can recycle more easily and with less resources invested. Also consider the users’ immediate environment: e.g., does your design pollute it visually and sonically?

  10. The least possible is the best possible. When you focus on just the essential aspects in your design, you can make the best of their purity. For example, the clean feel of a UI with well-defined, simple buttons is a winning “formula” compared with the clutter of options users would experience if you inserted every nice-to-have feature.

Image depicting examples of good design

© Gary Hustwit and Film First, Fair-Use 

Overall, your best designs will be self-explanatory to your users and customers, who’ll appreciate how these simple-yet-wonderful creations prove that you understand the people you design for.

Learn More about Good Design

Take our Visual Design course.

See good design at work and exemplified at code level.

Follow one designer’s account of how the principles of good design helped his app.

Questions related to Good Design

Where to learn more about good design?

In online education, there are many ways to educate yourself about design. You can explore courses like IxDFs' visual design course to learn more about good design. Witness the designs in action and delve into code-level examples. Additionally, broaden your knowledge by reading firsthand accounts from seasoned designers. This will help gain insights into how they apply and leverage good design principles in their projects. Engage with design communities and forums, where discussions and shared experiences contribute to a rich learning environment. Staying updated on industry trends through design blogs and podcasts and attending design conferences further fuels your understanding of good design. This will foster a continuous learning journey in the dynamic and evolving field of UX design.

Why is design so difficult?

Design is a balance of innovation and functionality that must be appealing while meeting user needs. Doing this with clarity and simplicity is hard enough, but we must also consider the physical and technological environment. The challenge lies in meeting immediate design goals, anticipating future trends, and ensuring adaptability. It's a process that demands a keen understanding of the ever-shifting dynamics in the design world.

What makes a bad design?

Bad design emerges from a lack of innovation, poor functionality, unclear communication, excessive complexity, and a disregard for user or customer needs. It prioritizes profit over user experience, lacks aesthetic appeal, and ignores the environment. Poor functionality is another trait that can be found in bad designs. Unclear communication adds to the problem, making it difficult for users to understand the design's purpose. Excessive complexity further increases issues as designs become cluttered and challenging to navigate. Additionally, disregarding user needs creates a disconnect, where the design prioritizes business needs over enhancing the user experience. In essence, bad design frustrates users, impacts brand reputations, and ultimately fails to achieve its intended purpose. Read this article on bad design for a better understanding.

What is the most powerful design principle?
What separates good design from great design?

Great user experience design surpasses good design by blending innovation, user-centric functionality, and aesthetic brilliance. It elevates itself beyond merely meeting basic requirements. While good design meets expectations, great design exceeds them, offering an experience that resonates more deeply. It portrays a thorough understanding of users' needs and desires, anticipating and addressing them in ways beyond the ordinary. Great design often possesses a timeless quality, defying existing trends and ensuring longevity. It leaves an effective mark not only in terms of visual appeal but also in terms of the lasting impression it leaves on the user. This establishes a connection that goes beyond the immediate interaction with the design.

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Watch this short clip by Don Norman to learn how to use human centricity to make your design great.

Why are visual skills important?

Visual skills are crucial for effective design, enabling clear communication, intuitive user interactions, and aesthetically pleasing outcomes. A well-defined visual language enhances the user experience by guiding individuals through the design. Understanding and mastering visual elements ensures effective communication and the creation of perfect designs. Mastery of visual elements extends beyond aesthetics; it empowers designers to create visually pleasing and highly functional designs. The ability to leverage colors, typography, and layout cohesively enhances the overall impact of a design. In essence, visual skills are not merely about making things look good. They help in optimizing the communication and usability of a design. This elevates the design from visually appealing to a robust and user-centric solution.

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Watch this video to understand more about the importance of visual skills in your CV.

How do you create a good design system?

To create a good design system for interactive solutions, focus on innovation, user experience, aesthetic appeal, clarity, and environmental considerations. Strive for simplicity, honesty, and thoroughness in design. Tailor the system to users' needs, emphasizing functionality and visual clarity while minimizing unnecessary complexity. A successful design system looks good and considers its impact on the environment, promoting sustainability. Refining and updating the system is crucial to keep it relevant and effective. You should adopt a system for clear communication within the design team. This ensures the whole team is on the same page and working towards shared goals. Tailoring the system to users' needs becomes a versatile tool, accommodating diverse requirements while enhancing overall user satisfaction.

What is a successful design system?

A successful design system involves maintaining innovation, prioritizing user experience, and adhering to the principles of good design. It requires clear communication, functional aesthetics, and an understanding of user expectations. This approach creates a cohesive and practical design across products or services. It is an ongoing process of staying creative and meeting users' needs. Following the basic rules of good design, like keeping things clear and simple, is essential. Communication is vital to ensure everyone working on the design is on the same page. Understanding what users expect helps shape the design to fit their needs. All these elements together create a design system that works well in the present and can adapt to changes in the future.

Want to learn how to use storytelling to create successful design systems? Take the IxDF's masterclass today.

What are the main qualities of a good design?

The main qualities of a good design incorporate innovation, functionality, aesthetics, user-friendliness, unobtrusiveness, honesty, durability, attention to detail, environmental consciousness, and simplicity. For products and services, user-friendliness is paramount, ensuring accessibility and intuitive interactions. Unobtrusiveness and honesty highlight ethical design, fostering trust and transparency. Durability speaks to longevity, emphasizing quality materials and craftsmanship. Attention to detail elevates the user experience, while environmental consciousness promotes sustainability. Simplicity remains a guiding principle, converting complexity into elegant solutions. These qualities align with Dieter Rams's ten principles, ensuring products are practical and visually appealing while minimizing unnecessary complexity. Following these vital attributes of a good design will make your design accessible and attractive. Each quality mentioned caters to some element a user might look for in any product or web design.

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Literature on Good Design

Here’s the entire UX literature on Good Design by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Good Design

Take a deep dive into Good Design with our course Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman .

In this course, taught by your instructor, Don Norman, you’ll learn how designers can improve the world, how you can apply human-centered design to solve complex global challenges, and what 21st century skills you’ll need to make a difference in the world. Each lesson will build upon another to expand your knowledge of human-centered design and provide you with practical skills to make a difference in the world.

“The challenge is to use the principles of human-centered design to produce positive results, products that enhance lives and add to our pleasure and enjoyment. The goal is to produce a great product, one that is successful, and that customers love. It can be done.”

— Don Norman

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