Dieter Rams: Less, But Better

Dieter Rams spent decades at a German appliance company designing radios, shavers, and coffee makers that did one thing and looked exactly like what they were. At a time when consumer products were ornate, colorful, and bristling with knobs, he stripped everything away until nothing was left that did not need to be there. Then Apple made him famous by copying him almost exactly: set a 1956 Braun record player next to an early iPod and the family resemblance is hard to miss. Jony Ive has called Rams a primary influence.

For anyone building a product, this is a case about how hard it is to take something out. Adding a button is easy. Deciding not to add one requires conviction that the core function is enough, and the discipline to say no to product managers, engineers, and executives who all want more. Rams summarized his whole philosophy in three German words, and what that phrase actually demands of you is the part the app saves for you.