The Unified Theory of Product Development: Part 5
A Focus On Design
About two years ago I came across a project on Kickstarter. A film maker Gary Hustwit was looking to raise finds for a project on the influential product designer Dieter Rams. You may or may not know Dieter but he has done some of the most influential design work for Braun, the consumer products company, as well as Vitsoe, the furniture manufacturer. He is a hero of Jonny Ive, the product chief for Apple.You can see alot of Dieter in Jonny’s work.

I loved the idea of a movie on Dieter so I backed the project. $50. For my $50 backing I got a digital download of the film when it is released, a copy of a list of Dieter’s 10 favorite jazz albums and a 5" x 7" letterpress print of Rams’ “10 Principles for Good Design.” The movie is currently showing at select special screenings and I am expecting to get my digital copy soon. The print, however, came about a year ago. It is beautiful, typed on Dieter’s Olivetti typewriter on beautiful, thick paper stock.
I truly believe my interest in design has been a huge help for me as I have built my career. I have talked about design thinking and how powerful ideas like reframing can be when solving problems. I always love talking design when hiring folks, obviously designers but also Product Managers. I always ask people about sites they draw inspiration from, how they keep across design trends. An interest in visual design, architecture or art is a major bonus and something that I love to see in Product Manager’s that I hire.
Philosophically I still haven’t read anything as complete a summary of what good design is than Diter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design. They cover everything you need to think about. If you are not familiar with the 10 Principles here they are. Vitsoe also has a good summary of them on their site.

Everyone designer, every team, has their own way of working through the design process. Tools they are comfortable with. Workflows that they use. But they should all think about the Principles above and make sure that what is being designed incorporates this design thinking
I love the design part of projects. I love seeing ideas come to life, the first simple sketches fleshed out and given life. Its important that as a leader you are available for this part of the project and that engineering gets included as much as possible. Careful design consideration and input at this point can save alot of problems later down the track.
