About a week back, I came across this post at Gizmodo, 1960s Braun Products Hold the Secrets to Apple’s Future. Now, if you search the net, the comparison goes beyond Braun & Apple and it boils down to two designers.

• Dieter Rams, wiki calls him – one of the most influential industrial designers in the 20th century &
• Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Inc. BBC calls him Armani of Apple.

While INSPIRATION is a complex word, it would be wrong to draw parallel. Myself a self confessed dreamer, would like to believe that these two geniuses separated by time & technology are in some way communicating. Don’t blame for drawing parallel to the movie “The Lake House“. But I won’t blame Jon Ive for chrome lining in the latest iPhone/iPOD touch and giving that retro touch in today’s technology.

Talk about Dieter Rams and his 10 Commandments on Design, which equals to usability in all aspect; now that the world web world is waking up to.

Dieter Rams: 10 Commandments on Design

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design helps us to understand a product.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is durable.
• Good design is consequent to the last detail.
• Good design is concerned with the environment.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

Devoid of a celebrity designer, Samsung’s product design are a group to be reckon with. Their new range of power pack NV Series cameras with the cool retro touch are simple awesome. I won’t be surprise if someone draws similarity with some 60’s Leica. Well than, Hasselbland following its tradition of quality & design, I bet they’ll be a tough one to crack.

I’ve seen my uncle, an Industrial Designer from NID, work on projects and how he focus on just one purpose – How will it effects the end user. Once I’d interacted on phone with Jhumkee Iyengar, Head, Usability Engineering, Persistent Systems, Pune. Sad that I miss the opportunity to meet her in person when I was in Persistent Pune for a day. But I was pleasantly surprise when I found out after sometime that she use to design products for Phillips, USA.

Now going to person who I’d met & interacted personally was my good friend & ex-colleague Param from Onward Research, who came across as a intense & honest person in following the users need.

Now time to draw the parallel. Drawing attention to Dieter Rams’s commandment. I believe – GOOD DESIGN IS HONEST.