# Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles

**Track:** Principles of Good Design — Design & Human-Centered Design — proposed (25)
**Framework / surface:** design
**Level:** Intermediate
**Prerequisites:** What Design Is

**In one line:** “Less, but better” — good design as restraint, honesty, and longevity.

## Theory, aesthetics & inspiration

Dieter Rams, who led Braun's design from 1961, distilled a working philosophy into the Ten Principles of Good Design (Zehn Thesen für gutes Design), formulated around 1980 when he asked whether his own products counted as good design. His motto, "Weniger, aber besser" — less, but better — frames design as restraint: good design is honest, unobtrusive, long-lasting, and ultimately "as little design as possible." Braun's functionalism treated ornament as dishonesty and durability as ethics. The endurance is literal — the 606 Universal Shelving System he designed in 1960 is still manufactured by Vitsœ, a half-century argument that good design outlasts trend.

## References

- [Dieter Rams — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams)
- [Ten principles for good design — Vitsœ (official)](https://www.vitsoe.com/us/about/good-design)
- [606 Universal Shelving System — Vitsœ (official)](https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606)