Designing Honestly
Putting Dieter Ram’s sixth principle of good design in practice.
Recently, I came across the 2018 documentary Rams directed by Gary Hustwit, detailing the life and influence of legendary German industrial designer Dieter Rams.
Rams is known for his “less is better” approach and industrial design works with Braun and Vitsoe. Most famously, this approach would go on to influence Jonathan Ive and the Apple production team’s concepts for Apple products like the original iPod and iPhone. If you want an example (and have an Apple product at hand) just take a look at the calculator app, which takes its design influence from the Ram’s 1977 Braun ET44 model.
Anyone who can win over Steve Jobs with their work is clearly doing something right and Dieter was not just impressing others with the design of his calculators. He gained a reputation as a design chameleon who could take anything from a chair to a tape recording system and make something great.
In 1976, Rams gave a talk in New York about his projects at Vitsoe and his thought process behind his work. He described what he called “The 10 Principles of Good Design”, which was a method for organizing thoughts when he designed. The list, safe to say, was an immediate hit with design thinkers. Not only has it been used as a process compass for industrial designers, but now has proliferated to other design disciplines from graphic design to UX. Here’s the list:
Each one is deserving of its own deep dive and analysis. However, there was one in particular that stuck in the back of my head as I continued to watch the doc.
6. Good Design is Honest
I wondered, what does it mean for a product to be honest?
Now after a little extra research and a couple days of reflection, I understand what he meant and how important this idea is for any designer looking to make an impact with their work.
What is Honesty in Design?
In the doc, Mark Adams, Managing Director at Vitsoe, gives Dieter, a close friend and co-worker, a tour of their newly constructed headquarters in Royal Leamington Spa, UK. As the camera tracks around the space, the first thing one may notice is the shocking lack of interior decoration or finish. As a world-renown furniture design company, you would expect Vistoe’s office space to be a tour de force in interior design. Instead, the building displays baron walls with exposed electrical wiring, minimalist shelving, exposed metal crossbeams, and HUGE roof skylights.
Though not expected, it makes a lot more sense when understanding Adams’ inspiration and connection with Rams. These details (or maybe lack thereof) were carefully taken by Adams to put Deiter’s 10 principles into practice and on display, with honest design being prominently featured.
Describing the space, Adams emphasized transparency in presentation, which allowed us to witness the craftsmanship rather than hide it like other buildings. The walls were left intentionally open, showcasing the high-performance beech laminate-veneer lumber supporting the building. The wires are carefully organized like a highway as they cascade over the warehouse walls, exhibiting the work put into knolling utilities for the headquarters. The shelves are simple but allow for extreme customization for worker/visitor needs.
By displaying the raw materials and craft included in the HQ’s construction, we gain a better sense of the effort, decisions and process behind it. Not only that, but the space is extremely adaptable to the needs of workers, while also providing visitors with ample ways to experience the materials and craftsmanship of Vistoe. It marries both transparency in displaying the quality of their product with providing value by addressing user needs for the space.
This is what lies at the center of honest design. When we as designers show transparency in our work and attention to audience pain points, we are working towards a more trusting relationship. This user trust is what makes honesty so important in great design. We not only do justice to the hard work that has gone into the product but also provide users with more value when they use what we’ve built.
Key to Honest Products
Now, what is the key to building trust with a user base? How can you or I instill more honesty in our products?
For starters, we can work on growing our user empathy skills.
The phrase “user empathy” gets thrown around a lot without any real regard for what users truly need. If you really are dedicated to honesty in your design, it starts with understanding how you can provide value to your audience. Vitsoe’s HQ provided value to its workers and visitors through quality materials, craftsmanship, and deep thought on what functions were needed to address user needs. For a designer who can’t physically show this, like a UX Designer, you can provide similar value by supporting design decisions with strong user research and testing. Both not only share transparency in their development, but also focus heavily on learning what their customers need and optimizing the value their products can provide.
“Good design is honest. It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.” Dieter Rams
A product founded on a lack of user empathy is doomed from the beginning. The final will always come out to be shallow, unintuitive and just a waste of time. You’re then left trying to salvage what you’ve created through inefficient patches, loose promises, and more lies to what you can provide your users.
Conversely, when a product team is willing to put in the time to understand its users, the end product doesn’t need to hide anything. It not only provides value, but continues to adapt and develop with the user’s input. Now more than ever, audiences are extremely resourceful and active in searching for products they can trust. Ones that can provide them with value and can display a penchant for honesty and empathy in their design. As a designer (or really as just a person), you should be reflecting constantly on how you can be a better advocate for your audience and how you can improve your honesty with the work you do.
Honesty is the Best Policy
Honesty is a lifestyle. It’s a habit that must continue to adapt to situations its put in.
Trust is a commodity. When trust is broken, it’s hard to say it will ever come back.
With products, you need to be conscious of how honest you really are being as your project(s) and audience continue to change.
Adams decision to leave the Vitsoe HQ unfinished is a strategy for staying adaptable and honest with his audience. When describing the new HQ in an interview with Dezeen, Adams addressed the construction decision stating that the building, “…will be unfinished — and it is unlikely that it will ever be finished — because it is alive and learning as it responds to an ever-changing world.”
Honesty should always be at the center of your work and must be a guiding question as you continue to build around your changing product goals.
There is immense value in user trust and you will need to continue to prove why you are deserving of it.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end! 🙏
Now I’d love to hear from you.
What are your thoughts on honest design? How can we as designers be more honest creators?
