A well-designed object is a thing of joy.

Design is essentially a careful understanding of the audience you are designing for. If done right, the well-designed object brings ease and pleasure to the user and beholder.

Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design succinctly lay down characteristics of good design. I’ll list them down here for a quick read.

According to Rams, good design -

1. is innovative

2. makes a product useful

3. is aesthetic

4. makes a product understandable

5. is unobtrusive

6. is honest

7. is long lasting

8. is thorough down to the last detail

9. is environmentally friendly

10. is as little ‘design’ as possible

One of the places I’ve been noticing a lot of good design lately is the kitchen.

I’ve been noticing the design, form and functionally of day-to-day cookware. The curve of a handle, the thickness of a base, the safety feature of a lid, etc. And if I ever run out of cookware to study and admire, I live in a city that has ample resources. From the accessible IKEA to the higher end West Elm, Dubai has several avenues for a keen and curious creative designer-homecook like me. Though a large part of my work involves branding and graphic design, I have a lively interest in product design - be it architecture, furniture, or cookware. Inspiration is everywhere, and spurs me on to design better and be one of the best designers in the region.

#design #designsgeo