Dieter Rams once explained his design approach as "Less, but better." This philosophy of simplicity shows in the many memorable products he designed for Braun including the famous SK-4 record player and the high-quality 'D'-series (D45, D46) of 35mm film slide projectors.

Braun-SK-61 record player designed by Dieter Rams & Hans Gugelot. Photo source: Wikipedia

Dieter Rams served as head of design for Braun A.G. until his retirement in 1998 and still continues to be a legend in design circles for his recently designed a cover for Wallpaper magazine. His focus on simplicity has allowed many of the products he designed to be found in museums around the globe, to include the MoMA in New York.

It is also said that Rams' designs have been influential on Jonathan Ive of Apple, Inc., designer of such products as the iMac, iPod, and iPhone.

To illustrate his design philosophy, Dieter wrote the following 10 Commandments on design.

1. Good design is Innovative
It does not copy existing product forms, nor does it produce any kind of novelty for the sake of it. The essence of innovation must be clearly seen in all of a product’s functions. Current technological development keeps offering new chances for innovative solutions.

2. Good design makes a product useful
The product is bought with the intention of being used. It must serve a defined purpose – in both primary and additional functions. The most important task of design is to optimize the utility of a product’s usability.

3. Good design is aesthetic
The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use everyday affect our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

4. Good design makes a product understandable
It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.

5. Good design is unobtrusive
Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.

6. Good design is honest
It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or vulnerable that it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

7. Good design has longevity
It does not follow trends that become outdated after a short period of time. Well designed products differ significantly from short lived trivial products in today’s throwaway society.

8. Good design is consequent down to the last detail
Nothing must be arbitrary. Thoroughness and accuracy in the design process shows respect toward the user.

9. Good design is environmentally friendly
Design must make contributions toward a stable environment and sensible raw material situation. This does not only include actual pollution, but also visual pollution and the destruction of our environment.

10. Good design is as little design as possible
Less is better–because it concentrates on the essential aspects and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Source: Wikipedia

Labels: design issues, Personal

The Design Bureau of Amerika™ that is!

Keith Bowman, Director of The Design Bureau of Amerika™, has officially launched the Bureau's blog and it is sure to be chock full-o-design goodies. One of the most notable things I admire about Keith is his openness and willingness to share with the design community. From vector to PS brush sets, he is a creative dynamo. Keith also has a great sense of humor (see image below).

Keith states, "We will try to update this site on a fairly regular basis as time permits. There are a lot of great projects planned for the near future, so make sure to sign up for our RSS Feed to get the latest updates as soon as they are posted."

So don't hesitate! Be sure to check out the Design Bureau of Amerika's blog for the latest and greatest inspiration and resources!

Labels: Colleagues, design issues, design resources, graphic design

Once in a while, I am able to art direct my wife to take an artsy portrait of me. She doesn't understand why I want her to do this, and to tell the truth, I don't understand what drives me to do it myself. It must be the Narcissist in me.


Here is the shot in the Museum of American Art in Washington, DC.

Instead of showing the newly acquired Obama portrait, reportedly plagiarized by the famous, or should I now say, "the infamous Shepard Fairey," I decided to show a picture of a nice weather vane. It looks like the arrow is going through my head. It was not my intention to plagiarize Steve Martin.

Now there is news of Fairey's arrest in Boston. No, it wasn't for being a plagiarist. He was arrested on oustanding warrants for graffiti related charges. One graphic designer was quoted as saying, "I wouldn't say it's cool he was arrested, but I think it shows he has integrity." What?! I guess I am not being true to my creative expression due to a lack of displaying such integrity as a disruptive punk! Receiving 15 minutes of fame by being an undisciplined jackass is not in my 5-year plan.

Fairey goes on to question the motivation and timing of his arrest. Fairey was supposed to appear as a guest DJ for the kickoff of his exhibit, Supply and Demand. He never made it. Written in the Boston Globe, "According to court documents, Fairey allegedly defaced a Massachusetts Turnpike Authority building at Massachusetts Avenue and Newbury Street. Fairey is accused of stenciling five images of a black-and-white face above the word "Obey." "I'm making art that not everybody likes," Fairey told reporters outside Roxbury Municipal Court. Well Frank, if the original designers had intended for your "art" to be apart of the environmental graphics and building you defaced, I'm sure they would have indicated a space for it.

So, unlike Frank Fairey's "work," the image I have posted is actually an original and although you may still see a portion of the artist's piece in front of me, it's not the main focus of the composition. No, I didn't spray paint my silhouette on the museum's wall to make some haphazard point. Nor did I copy another artist to form some kind of enlightened protest or proclaim my brilliance. I am extremely passionate about my creativity, and I have a strong desire to share my perspective with everyone who wishes to view it, but receiving fame or attention for being a sophomoric malcontent and going to jail for it isn't part of that intense desire to articulate my feelings. No, my Narcissism only goes so far.

Labels: Personal, Portrait, Rant

A growing concern within the design community is the rapid development and implementation of design contest sites where a potential client or “contest owner,” can display a small brief and art direct a myriad of willing design minions to do their will. In the design profession this unethical business model is called “designing on spec.” This practice occurs when a designer presents a concept or idea that hasn’t been paid for in hopes of winning a pittance for their effort. Spec work has become a major force in devaluing the perception of graphic design in the business world and the major players involved in accelerating this practice are the novice designers themselves.

As more and more people enter into the graphic design profession, and more tools like graphic design software become affordable, more people are professing to be graphic designers with little to no training or experience. To overcome the deluge of competition, most of these inexperienced designers have taken on the role of undercutting each other, ripping each other off, and bending to the whims of anyone that may offer an opportunity to get their work out there in the public eye, even if that means not getting compensated for their time. The impact to the graphic design profession has been anything but positive.

In a recent article in Forbes Magazine titled, “The Creativity of Crowds,” written by Christopher Steiner, he clearly defines indirectly how design contests devalue the graphic design profession.

The article states that the design contest sites have democratized a snooty business and offer low budget solutions. The author goes on to compare an architecture design contest from 1922 to the present day climate of graphic design done on spec.

There is just one essential element missing from Steiner’s article. It’s the voice of the seasoned graphic design professional.

According to Cat Morley from No!Spec, and Jeff Fisher from Jeff Fisher Logomotives, Steiner made haphazard attempts to interview them, and never intended to publish their side of the story.

Fisher stated that Morley had emailed him with a request from Forbes magazine for someone to discuss NO!SPEC and the CrowdSourcing (spec work in disguise) of a certain company. Jeff contacted the reporter and set up a phone interview time with him. He never heard from Steiner at the appointed time. Jeff then emailed him the next morning. Steiner said he'd been tied up at the appointment time and he'd call back immediately - Jeff never received the call.

Fisher also provided Steiner the contact information for Sean Adams and Debbie Millman of the AIGA as possible sources for the article. Steiner said he appreciated the information as he had tried to call the AIGA office the day before. Millman emailed Steiner to let him know she was available – and never heard back from him.

From the tone of the article that appeared, I wonder if Steiner really wanted input from the other side at all – and the headline referring to graphic design as a "snooty business" certainly sets that tone.

... who designs Forbes? Who builds and maintains their website? Who handles their advertising? Must be an entire legion of Tennesseean grannies.

-- Jeope Wolfe

Steve Douglas, Creative Director of the LogoFactory, posted this statement to his blog, “Crowdspring, usually through blog comments and press releases by co-founder Ross Kimbarovsky - like to portray themselves as a ‘crowd-sourcing’ platform, which they’re not, unique to the industry, which they’re not, and some form of revolutionary plan to ‘democratize design’ which they’re not either.”

Douglas went on to say, “Alas, despite their lofty claims, Crowdspring is just another design contest site which asks designers to submit their artwork to contests, for free, in the hope of getting paid, while Crowdspring charges the contest holders their prize money plus a $39 fee (and claws back 15% of the prize paid to ‘winning’ designers). ”

Jeope Wolfe, a publication designer from Canada states, “There is definitely education to be had here, and masses unwilling to be part of it. And who designs Forbes? Who builds and maintains their website? Who handles their advertising? Must be an entire legion of Tennesseean grannies.”

Wolfe makes a good point. Maybe Forbes can get a great deal on publication and web design from a design contest site and fire their present design team. Of course, that will never happen because Forbes will only see as far as the end of Christopher Steiner’s nose.

So what do we do to curb this destructive perception of the graphic design profession? Well, each designer should take the initiative to educate fellow designers and clients alike. The design community should demand that organizations like AIGA and GAG implement stronger marketing and education campaigns to shine a negative light on the unethical practices of design on spec.

Want to join the crusade against design contests and the promotion of spec work? Visit sites like No!Spec, Creative Latitude, BoDo, Creative Business, and many others, to learn what you can do to help keep the perception of graphic design in a professional light.

More related blog posts concerning this story:

WIRED Magazine: Is Crowdsourcing Evil? The Design Community Weighs In
David Airey: Forbes calls designers snooty
Jeff Andrews: Forbes Magazine: Graphic Design is a Snooty Business
Steven Gibbs: Designers over Contests
Swiss Miss: Forbes calls designers snooty
Brian Yerkes: Why CrowdSpring Owners Should Be Ashamed of Their Business
AIGA: Position on spec work
About.com: What is Spec Work?

Labels: Forbes Magazine, NoSpec, Rant, Snooty Designers