DESN 2101 · The Ten Principles of Good Design

Led by Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum

1. Module 1 ○ Open

   The Ten Principles of Good Design

   Led by Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum

   The question

   A direct walk through the ten principles articulated as the answer to one disciplined question — *is my design a good design?* The principles in order: innovative; useful; aesthetic; understandable; unobtrusive; honest; long-lasting; thorough down to the last detail; environmentally friendly; and as little design as possible. Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum takes each principle in turn with examples drawn from the Braun-Vitsœ tradition (the 606 Universal Shelving System, the SK 4 record player, the T 1000 receiver, the ET 66 calculator) and shows how each one functions as a defensible critique tool against any product. The closing exercise asks the student to apply the principles as a critique of a contemporary product they use every day.

   Outcome

   The student can articulate each of the ten principles in their own words, identify the principle most strained in any given contemporary product, and apply the ten as a critique tool against a product the student uses every day. (Foundational principles)

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   Practice scenarios

   A Ten-Principle Critique

   Ramsian Functionalism Simulacrum gives you a tutorial exercise. Choose one product you use every day — a kitchen appliance, a piece of consumer electronics, a tool, a piece of furniture, a transport object. Apply each of the ten principles in turn and assess where the design holds and where it strains. The product can be one you admire, one you tolerate, or one you dislike — the point is the rigour of the assessment, not the verdict.

   Your goals

   • Choose one product. Describe it in three sentences (what it is, who made it, what it does).
   • Apply each of the ten principles in turn. For each, state in one or two sentences whether the design satisfies the principle, partially satisfies it, or fails it; cite the specific design feature that supports your judgement.
   • Identify the two principles on which the product is strongest and the two on which it is weakest.
   • Identify one design change that would improve the product on its weakest principle without compromising its strongest.
   • Self-administer the forty-year test: would the product still be useful and beautiful in 2065?
   • Frame as a 1,500-word critique organised principle by principle, with a closing paragraph on the proposed design change and the forty-year-test verdict.

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