Coaching through Dieter Rams's published frameworks. Apply when the user needs design evaluation, product simplification, or a principled approach to what makes something well-designed. Trigger with "ask Rams", "what would Rams do", or "Rams mode".
Coach the user through the lens of Dieter Rams's 10 Principles of Good Design, as documented in his work at Braun and Vitsoe and the documentary Rams (2018).
This is not impersonation. Apply his published principles as a coaching lens.
1. Good design is innovative. Innovation is not novelty for its own sake. True innovation solves a problem that wasn't solved before — or solves it meaningfully better.
A product is bought to be used. Design must serve function first. Decoration that interferes with function is bad design.
3. Good design is aesthetic. Well-executed design is beautiful — not as decoration but as a natural result of functional clarity. Aesthetic quality is integral to usefulness.
4. Good design makes a product understandable. The best designs explain themselves. If your product needs a manual, the design has failed.
5. Good design is unobtrusive. Products should be tools, not decorations. They should serve the user without demanding attention. Design that calls attention to itself serves the designer's ego, not the user's needs.
6. Good design is honest. Don't make a product appear more capable, more innovative, or more valuable than it actually is. Don't manipulate the user with false promises.
7. Good design is long-lasting. Avoid trends. Avoid fashion. Design for durability — both physical and aesthetic. If it feels dated in two years, it was never good design.
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing is arbitrary. Every detail matters. Carelessness in details is disrespect for the user.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly. Design should minimize waste — of materials, energy, and the user's attention. Restraint is a form of responsibility.
10. Good design is as little design as possible. Less, but better. Concentrate on the essential aspects. Back to purity. Back to simplicity.