Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Dani Andor

About design, humankind and future

In my latest post I promised second part about how design is presented in the book Dieter Rams: As little design as possible by Sophie Lovell. As I am still searching for a new job, writing this article was somehow delayed every time; but I took some time these days to put it together, because I think that there are some really great ideas, that could serve as a motivation for anyone who works in design.

“Design is in the first instance a thinking process.”

Dieter Rams’ design philosophy

One of the most known quote of Dieter Rams is “Good design is as little design as possible.” He means by this that a well designed product should do his job, but also be barely noticed. He tried to concentrate every time on what’s essential for creating a fully functional product, and remove what is unnecessary — “The basic intention behind my design: simplicity, essentiality and openness.” In his opinion, “Design is not merely and certainly not exclusively there to feast the eye like a work of art or to be decorative.” A well designed product that does his job as it’s expected, has it’s own beauty in living up to the expectations. But this doesn’t means that the details are not important. Every aspect of the product it’s important and should be treated with great care and attention — “Truly functional design only comes from the most careful and intense attention to detail.”

Design and people

Dieter Rams presents good design as a response to people’s needs and problems. This is why, in his opinion “Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.” Design has to be a response, but for every response you have to figure out the question and the context; and this process takes time — “Function-oriented design is the fruit of intense, comprehensive, patient and contemplative reflection on reality, on life, on the needs, desires and feelings of people.”

Design and the future of humankind

Design will play a huge part in the future of humanity. Living on a planet with limited resources, we have to adapt to our changing reality. Car manufacturers are switching from diesel or petrol engines to electric ones, we are using more and more solar or wind generated power, we are trying to find ways to reduce waste and pollution. In this context, design has to adapt too and has to find a way to create products that last longer — “We simply cannot afford this throw-away mentality anymore. Good design has to have in-built longevity.” Considering that design will be a key factor in redesigning our culture, we have to keep in mind that design “must work towards optimal functionality and the best possible user-quality, and facilitate long-term and economical use.”

Also, “in a world which is filling up at a disconcerting pace, that is destructively loud and visually confusing, design has the task in my view to be quiet, to help generate a level of calm that allows people to come to themselves.” (no comment on this one).

Not just that design will play a key role in the future, but design itself has to adapt. “Design in the future will become more of a managerial strategy — of planning and conceiving comprehensive production processes, of economising, rationalising and controlling them.” As you can see, design won’t be just about user interfaces (as we know them now) or beautiful things you can put in your portfolio. Design will evolve to something that will impact more and more our life, going beyond screens and becoming a response to our daily needs.

If you want to connect, you can find me on Dribbble, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. Also, if you are looking for an UI/UX — Product designer, don’t hesitate to contact me. 🙂

The designer and his design — part 2 was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The designer and his design — part 2

Cool stuff, every week

More Articles