At work, I am building a set of dashboards for a client. In preparation, I’ve decided to take a look back at the fundamentals of good design.

Good design reduces that complexity and makes decisions easier to make. 

One of my favorite designers is Dieter Rams, a German designer who inspired Apple design. He laid out his design strategy in 10 principles. In italics, I score my project against the principles.

1. Good design is innovative

My design can be better, I need to think about what makes this client unique. It is easy to make a cookie cutter dashboard. But, to make it innovative, I need to better understand what the client needs and how they will use it.

2. Good design makes a product useful

The dashboards are bringing together tangled masses of data into elegant views. I am making data useful.

3. Good design is aesthetic

I need to take another look at the spaces between my panels.

4. Good design makes a product understandable

I  need to make sure that there are enough text boxes and descriptions so that anyone can pick it up.

5. Good design is unobtrusive

Conditional columns, bar charts, tables, and the occasional doughnut.

6. Good design is honest

I have resisted the temptation to try and awe the client with chord charts and tree maps. Usually, the flashiest visualizations are the least useful.

7. Good design is long lasting

I designed the underlying structure so that it is easy to change. I have an over the top calendar table. I parametarize everything. It takes more time on the front end, but makes it simple to make changes.

8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail

I have measures under the hood that I need to rename for clarity.

9. Good design is environmentally friendly

I haven’t even thought about this.

10. Good design is as little design as possible

Here I succeed.