Dieter Rams and His Principles Are Welcome Here

So basically, Dieter Rams, when he came up with these rules, started off with the question "Is my design good design?" He saw that design within the world was utter and complete chaos, and he needed some loose principles to base design off of so it could be judged as good or bad, because without rules, everything is subjective. 

Good design is innovative. Did you see that thingamajig in the store that could do 100 different things, all while looking extremely stylish? Did it do them all in a different way than the competitors? A way you couldn't have even imagined? Then it follows the first principle of design. Well done, thingamajig. 

Good design makes a product useful. Use is the most important thing. An object can be beautiful and still be useless. But that isn't what good design is aiming for. We don't want beautiful paper weights here, we want gorgeous coffee makers that actually do the job credibly. 

Good design is aesthetic. When your coffee maker is coffee making at 5 am in the morning, would you prefer a beautiful one? Or an ugly one? It may seem trivial, but appearances that are visually pleasing can affect your mood, your thoughts, and the way you think, the same way that visually unappealing things can. In short, that lovely coffee maker may be partially responsible for why you rocked your corporate presentation at work this morning. 

Good design makes a product understandable. How the object works and what it's used for should be apparent. Inherently, you should know at a glance that this button is the on switch or that one controls volume. The purpose of a well designed product should not be a guessing game. 

Good design is unobtrusive. It should be as close to a blank slate as possible, so people can personalize the product and make it one-of-a-kind to them.

Good design is honest. What? Basically, if something looks very chic, like it would work amazingly for its given purpose, it should work amazingly. If it does not work well, its appearance should reflect that. Something that works terribly shouldn't look like it will be the last of that type of thing you'll ever get, because if someone spends so little time making sure the object carries out it's job properly, what would keep them from spending as little time on the design, and vice versa?

Good design is long-lasting. It does not follow trends, or whims of the runway, and always gives off a timeless, classic air. 

Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Everything is planned, and every detail gets the proper amount of thought, 

Good design is environmentally friendly. Basically green is good. Figuratively, of course. 

Good design is as little design as possible. The basics are covered well, the unneeded or unnecessary things are discarded. Simple is best.