Good design

Back in the early 1980s, Dieter Rams was becoming increasingly concerned by the state of the world around him – “an impenetrable confusion of forms, colours and noises.” Aware that he was a significant contributor to that world, he asked himself an important question: is my design good design? As good design cannot be measured in a finite way he set about expressing the ten most important principles for what he considered was good design. Here they are. Good design is innovative The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Good design makes a product useful A product is bought to be used. Good design is aesthetic The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. Good design makes a product understandable It clarifies the product’s structure. Good design is unobtrusive Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. Good design is honest Good design is long-lasting

Magisso Cake Server The simple task of slicing a nice piece of cake and getting it to your plate can be quite difficult sometimes. Finnish art and design student Maria Kivijärvi came up with a solution to this small problem by designing a stainless steel cake server that makes slicing a piece of cake, well, “a piece of cake.” You no longer have to worry about the perfection of your slicing and the piece toppling over as you move it to your plate! The server cuts a uniform slice every time and the squeeze of the handle keeps the cake in the server until you release it. Bulthaup's painfully beautiful "tool cabinet" for kitchens I live in a converted sweatshop with two dogs, and it is a lot less cool and lot more rough than you think. One particular sore spot is my "kitchen," a pathetic and cobbled-together assortment of cast-off drawers, cabinets and surfaces mostly made out of other people's garbage. So it's pure torture that my dogwalking route takes me past the Bulthaup showroom two or three times a day. The German high-end kitchen manufacturer produces the stunning B2 kitchen workshop, which I drool over daily. Hit the jump for more shots and info. The essence of that which makes and signifies a kitchen is incorporated in bulthaup b2. Share my pain and learn more about the B2--including the rather bizarre-sounding, artsy "poetical analysis" design methodology behind it--here.

Silverair Silverware by Pod Design and Media Would You Use a Bone Folder as a Knife? Do you know what a Bone Folder is? It’s a plastic utensil used for scoring paper, putting folds in it. Originally the Bone Folder was made of real animal bone. Some people still use animal bones for this very purpose. This set is called the “Silverair.” Or, hear me out, maybe we should just use our hands? Hands. Designer: Pod Design and Media