Design Sojourn

My first exposure to Dieter Rams was through a German lecturer I had at school that really idolized him. Perhaps it was his constant, “Dieter did this” or “Dieter would have done that” that really put me off! Now that I think about it, my former lecturer even looked and dressed like him! However through out the years, I have come to recognize Dieter’s extensive and important influence over modern industrial design.

I know we have discussed Dieter before, but I have decided to create a post specially dedicated to this design legend who also happens to be going through a second renaissance. Do enjoy!

Dieter Rams, designer – Cold War Modern from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

Dieter Rams’ 10 Design Commandments

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 functions of a product. The possibilities in this respect are by no means exhausted. Technological development keeps offering new chances for innovative solutions.

2. Good Design makes a product useful
A product is bought in order to be used. It must serve a defined purpose – in both primary and additional functions. The most important task of design is to optimise the utility of a product.

3. Good Design is aesthetic
The aesthetic quality of a product – and the fascination it inspires – is an integral part of the its utility. Without doubt, it is uncomfortable and tiring to have to put up with products that are confusing, that get on your nerves, that you are unable to relate to. However, it has always been a hard task to argue about aesthetic quality, for two reasons.

Firstly, it is difficult to talk about anything visual, since words have a different meaning for different people.

Secondly, aesthetic quality deals with details, subtle shades, harmony and the equilibrium of a whole variety of visual elements. A good eye is required, schooled by years and years of experience, in order to be able to draw the right conclusion.

4. Good Design helps a product be understood
It clarifies the structure of the product. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory and saves you the long, tedious perusal of the operating manual.

5. Good Design is unobtrusive
Products that satisfy this criterion are tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained leaving room for the user’s self-expression.

6. Good Design is honest
An honestly-designed product must not claim features it does not have – being more innovative, more efficient, of higher value. It must not influence or manipulate buyers and users.

7. Good Design is durable
It is nothing trendy that might be out-of-date tomorrow. This is one of the major differences between well-designed products and trivial objects for a waste-producing society. Waste must no longer be tolerated.

8. Good Design is thorough to the last detail
Thoroughness and accuracy of design are synonymous with the product and its functions, as seen through the eyes of the user

9. Good Design is concerned with environment
Design must contribute towards a stable environment and a sensible use of raw materials. This means considering not only actual pollution, but also the visual pollution and destruction of our environment.

10. Good Design is as little design as possible
Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Quote extracted from Vitsoe, and do visit their site for some great images of Dieter’s work.

More Videos

Braun T1000, designer Dieter Rams – Cold War Modern from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

Other Links

a) Dieter Rams at Wikipedia.

b) Dieter Rams talks to Design Boom.

c) Dieter Rams at Wallpaper as a Guest Editor.

d) Dieter Rams at Vitsoe
.

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So what do you think of Dieter Rams? I would love to hear your comments and any other links that you may have.

Apple customarily comes late to the game, sitting and watching and then releasing its own, usually better, take on the current offerings. If Apple went to a party, it would turn up last and leave with the hottest girl there.

Via: Anders Ramsay via Wired

First off I like to say a big HELLO to all visitors coming from Yanko Design!

Secondly I like to announce to all Design Sojourn readers that I have accepted an invitation by Takashi Yamada (The Publisher) to join the Yanko Design team an industry consultant.

I know some of you may be wondering “Why?”, so I thought I would share with you some of the background of this partnership.

Takashi had contacted me sometime in the middle of 2008. After a few rounds of getting to know each other better and sharing our views on design, he asked if I would like to join the YD team. However at that time I was going through a transition phase (who’s life isn’t eh?) and was too busy to take our discussion any further.

Earlier this year, I had blogged about this transition and celebrated it with a new look Design Sojourn 4.0. After getting settled in my new role, I got back in touch with Takashi.

One of our key discussion points was how to differentiate the content here at Design Sojourn and at YD. Takashi had originally asked me to carry on what I did here at YD. At first I could not figure out how to differentiate my content between Design Sojourn and YD. However as this blog has now evolved, it is now a lot clearer what I will write at YD.

Design Sojourn will continue to be about “How to master the business of strategic industrial design.” The content will focus on explorations in strategic design management, navigating the different aspects of the entire design process, and getting to the finish line. In short a “helicopter’s” view of Design. This blog will also have snippets or snacks that will help paint a better picture of the multidisciplinary influences to my design strategies. It is a personal design blog after all!

YD articles, on the other hand, will perhaps be more “tactical” in nature. In other words looking back at my original focus of “How to do good design and create clever products.” Even though this blog will focus less on this aspect, it is still very much apart of my daily work and I have decided to continue writing about this at YD.

I like to close this post with some of my thoughts on YD. Many people have criticized YD’s focus on on “Vapor Wear” or Concept Ideas that do not have a shred of realty and thus not representing the realities of Design.

I agree.

However, I see YD as really just about “celebrating the beauty and cleverness of an idea”. Of course, all of us know that coming up with an idea is only 2% of the work required for a successful product. However the idea is the starting point of everything and I notice that we, that are so abused in the design trenches, often forget this. I know I did. A crap idea, well implemented, is still crap. So I hope my time at YD will be a fruitful one as I will have an opportunity to help designers fill in that other 98% by sharing how to take those next steps!

See you around, there or here and please keep in touch?

Every second French Fry is either burnt, has a harden end or too short for satisfactory consumption.
 
Did you know that there are people who go around checking that this does not happen?

Posted via email from TDOET: The Design of Everyday Things

I have to say, that I have been enjoying the use of Posterous a lot recently, especially the site’s ability to publish my stuff via email. They can store, re-size and present your media (pictures, music, video etc.) very efficiently. So I have been racking my brains to figure out how I can better utilize this wonderfully simple micro-blogging site.

And now I have! Enter my new micro-blog called “The Design of Everyday Things” or TDOET.com.

One of my favorite past times (or curse) is allowing my overly critical design mind to be triggered by good or bad designs that I stumble over in the environment around me. Therefore, I think it makes sense to create a site that catalogs these “triggers” by “The Design of Everyday Things” around me. Not to mention a convenient social outlet for my media slut of an iPhone!

The great thing about this site is that it can aggregate and store your content. So it could be sort of a visual diary or notebook of my stuff. The other good thing about the site is that it can cross post stuff all over the place like Twitter, Facebook and even a Wordpress blog. So on advice from a fellow design blogger, I will set up Posterous so that it will cross post my thought triggers back here on Design Sojourn! How cool is that?

However “The Design of Everyday Things” will still have it’s own domain name, just to formalize things a little. I decided to keep the title of the site simple by calling it by its acronym, which was amazingly available for purchase. So we now have TDOET.com, is a 5 letter easy to remember .com domain name, how about that?

So if you like, do bookmark your visit to TDOET.com (The Design of Everyday Things) or just come back here and enjoy my take on the less serious side of design.

And oh, do check out the inspiration for TDOET.com:

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

Not only can it be a great source of information on usability and product ergonomics, it is also a fantastic source of learning how to be sensitive to the product’s user experience. If it is not a textbook or required reading for your design school, make it so!

The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality.

His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot—albeit a perfect one—to get an “A”.

Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work—and learning from their mistakes—the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.

Get on with your Design and stop thinking about it. Fail often, Fail a lot, but fail early.

Quote Via: Russell Davies

Chris Bangle has left the building and its all over the Auto blogs and news websites! The fans are sadden, and the critics are cheering. Hmm…

Bangle leaves behind a humongous legacy of highs and lows. He was credited in creating “Flame surfacing” on the Z3/4 and the “Bangle Butt (Boot)” on the 2002 7 Series. Sadly his work was often widely criticized.

I was very lucky to have been invited for a quiet breakfast “meet the designers” session. He was warm and very approachable, despite my blunder about his work on the Renault Clieo. Biting the bullet, I asked him what he thought about the heavy criticism of his work. I cannot entirely remember what his reply was, but it was calm and almost rehearsed. It went something like “everyone is entitled to his opinion, but the sales figures never lie”. I like to always put it in another way, “There are no statues erected of critics”!

He has a very commercial approach to design, where aesthetic taste seems almost secondary to his focus of selling product. Is good design really just good business? What do you think? Regardless I believe his influence will continue to be seen in many years to come.

Press Release
Christopher E. Bangle, the BMW Group’s Head of Design, has worked closely with Adrian van Hooydonk in BMW Group design development for nearly17 years. Now he is handing over his post to van Hooydonk, who is currently Head of BMW Automobile Design. “Christopher Bangle has had a lasting impact on the identity of BMW Group’s brands. His contribution to the company’s success has been decisive, and together with his teams he has mapped out a clear and aesthetic route into the future,” said Dr Klaus Draeger, BMW AG’s Board Member for Development.

Dr Draeger went on to explain that the BMW Group was currently “in an excellent position”, thanks to a broad portfolio of automobiles and several new vehicle concepts due for market launch in the coming months and years. The BMW AG Management Board, he added, is looking forward to working with van Hooydonk as Head of BMW Group Design – a man who shares Bangle’s fascination for technology and aesthetics, tradition and innovation. Dr Draeger affirmed that van Hooydonk would be in a position to continue to build on a design philosophy, which extends across the BMW Group’s brands. Bangle’s plan to pursue his own design-related endeavours beyond the auto industry marks the start of a new phase in his life while maintaining strong ties with the BMW Group.

Over the years numerous designs for new vehicles and vehicle concepts have been developed under Christopher Bangle’s leadership. As well as continuing the BMW 3, 5 and 7 Series, he and his teams were responsible for a range of other models, including the BMW Z3, BMW Z4, BMW X5, BMW Z8, BMW X3, the new BMW 6 Series, the BMW X6 and the BMW 1 Series. Other developments under the auspices of Christopher Bangle include the new MINI and Rolls-Royce models and a number of innovative motorcycle concepts. During his tenure, Christopher Bangle was also instrumental in making the company’s consultancy subsidiary, BMW Group DesignworksUSA, what it is today: a global design agency in North America, Munich and Singapore for leading international brands and companies in a wide variety of industries.

Thanks to their outstanding design quality numerous products from all three of the BMW Group’s automobile brands have won a host of renowned awards from around the world. Bangle has always had a special aptitude for working with his teams to strengthen the identities and unmistakable images of the BMW Group’s brands and to inspire design innovations, said Dr Draeger, Board Member for Development. Over the years he has received a dozen patents for his technical applications and design. These, along with the one hundred additional patents awarded to the BMW Group Design under Bangle’s auspices, are a testimony to his creative and innovative power.

Born in the USA, Christopher Bangle, aged 52, has been Head of BMW Group Design Development since October 1992. After studying at the University of Wisconsin and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he began his working life in Rüsselsheim, where he worked for Adam Opel AG. In 1985 he joined FIAT, where he became Director of the FIAT Centro Stile in 1992. Shortly afterwards he left the Italian automaker to come to Munich.

Throughout his career with the BMW Group Bangle’s right-hand man has been Adrian van Hooydonk, who is now set to become his successor. He described van Hooydonk as “truly a top professional in our business,” adding, “I am sure that the many strong design strategies he has helped us create for the BMW Group will continue to develop and evolve.”

Adrian van Hooydonk, aged 44, will take over as Director of BMW Group Design with immediate effect. In his new position he will be responsible for design development for the BMW, Rolls-Royce and MINI brands. Born in the Netherlands, van Hooydonk studied at Delft Polytechnic University in Holland and later at the Art Center Europe in Vevey, Switzerland, until 1992. From there he came to Munich, where he joined BMW as a designer. In the year 2000 he went to California to work for the BMW Group subsidiary Designworks USA. He was Director of the internationally renowned design agency from 2001 to 2004. Then, under Bangle as the BMW Group’s Head of Design, he became Head of the Brand Design Studio for BMW Automobiles.

The BMW 6 Series and 7 Series lines clearly bear the hallmark of van Hooydonk’s design influence, as do the Z9 Concept Car, the BMW Concept CS (unveiled in 2007) and the M1 Hommage Study. In 1997 van Hooydonk created the ACV 30 Show Car for MINI and more recently he and his team have developed the designs for the new BMW 7 Series and Z4 as well as for the Concept Progressive Activity Sedan, which celebrates its premiere at the Geneva Auto Show in early March 2009.

“I am honoured and extremely excited to take on this new responsibility”, says van Hooydonk. “BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce produce the best cars and motorcycles in their segment, and I am really looking forward to being able to contribute to the future development of these brands.” Speaking of his hopes for the years to come, van Hooydonk added: “I have no doubt that there are challenges ahead, but BMW’s depth in engineering and the passion of its talented design team are as strong as ever. Together I am sure we will be able to create some very sophisticated and extremely attractive concepts.”

Press release source: BMW Blog.