Design Philosophy

Weniger, aber besser.

—Dieter Rams

Less, but better. With these famous three words Dieter Rams has captured the timeless essence of good (experience) design. Even the quotation is, in its conciseness, a perfect example of and testimony to his belief system.

I couldn’t agree more with his philosophy.

The world around us is busy and noisy and can feel overwhelming at times. Any new experience that creates true value has to keep the noise level down and provide a clear and easy path for customers to accomplish their goals. This is as true for developing products and services as it is for designing physical or virtual spaces and environments.

Make no mistake, creating simplicity while maximizing value for the customer and the business is anything but simple. To be successful, we have to acknowledge this challenge and tackle it with integrity, discipline, and creativity.

Above all, we must develop empathy with all people involved in the design process. We have to be aware of our customers’ needs and sentiments when we’re designing solutions for them. What’s working well? What’s causing frustration? In the same way, we have to understand and respect the commitments of our business stakeholders and strategic partners and show them that we care.

Managing heterogeneous expectations is not always easy. Process can be messy and a point of contention. At times we may even be tempted to cut corners and act against our (guiding) principles. But we need to stay the course.

Our external customers may not care about what’s going on behind the scenes—our technological systems, processes, or design principles. But they do look for solutions that allow them to make progress toward their job at hand. And it’s our job to develop and deliver meaningful experiences that feel simple and create true value.