DESN 2102 · Form, Restraint, and the Discipline of Subtraction

Led by Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum

1. Module 2 ○ Open

   Form, Restraint, and the Discipline of Subtraction

   Led by Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum

   The question

   *Weniger, aber besser* — less, but better — as a working studio discipline, not a slogan. Where Module 1 walked through the ten principles as a checklist, Module 2 walks through the daily practice of subtraction: how to identify what should not be there, how to test whether a removed element is missed, how to resist the management and marketing pressures that add elements back, and how to develop the disciplined eye that sees additive decoration before it has been added. Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum walks through subtractive method with worked examples from the Braun corpus (the move from the cluttered consumer-electronics conventions of the 1950s to the restrained Braun aesthetic of the 1960s; the design history of the SK 4 record player; the *Snow White's Coffin*), the ergonomic disciplines of Hans Gugelot and Otl Aicher, and the *unobtrusive* principle as a critique tool against attention-extracting product design.

   Outcome

   The student can apply the subtractive method to a design under development — identifying load-bearing elements, removing decoration without loss, and resisting the pressures (marketing, management, peer-review) that re-introduce additive elements. (Subtractive method)

   Begin the course → Mark module complete Print certificate of completion

   Practice scenarios

   The Subtraction Journal

   Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum gives you the working exercise. Take any design you have under way (from DES 1100 Foundations or from your own current work) and run three rounds of subtractive review on it. Round one: identify one element that could be removed. Round two: remove it and notice what changes; restore only if necessary. Round three: identify a second element and repeat. Document every move, every removal, every restoration in the journal with reasoning.

   Your goals

   • Pick one design (sketch, model, prototype, or screen) under current development.
   • Round 1: identify and remove one decorative or unnecessary element. Document the removal in the journal: what was removed, why it was identified as removable, and what changed in the design.
   • Round 2: identify a second element. Document.
   • Round 3: identify a third. Document.
   • After a 24-hour gap, re-read the journal and decide which removals to keep and which to restore. Document the reasoning for each decision.
   • Frame as a 1,000-word reflective journal documenting the three rounds and the restoration review, plus the design itself in before-and-after form (sketch, photograph, or screen capture).

   Practise this scenario →