“Less, but better.”
Dieter Rams
Less, but better captures Rams’s belief that good design strips away everything unnecessary to focus on what truly matters. It’s not about doing less work—it’s about being more intentional, removing clutter and ornamentation to reveal the essential.
Context of the Quote
This phrase comes from the tenth and final principle in Rams’s design philosophy: “Good design is as little design as possible.” Developed during his decades at Braun, it emerged from his frustration with overcomplicated, wasteful products flooding the market. Rams saw designers adding unnecessary features and decoration, burdening products with elements that served no real purpose. His answer was radical simplicity—purity over excess.
Application of the Quote
You don’t need to be a designer to use this principle. In your career, ask: what’s essential to this project? What can I eliminate without losing value? Focus your energy on fewer things done exceptionally well rather than spreading yourself thin.
In life, apply it to how you spend time, organize your space, or make decisions. Cut what doesn’t serve you. The discipline of “less, but better” means saying no to good things so you can say yes to great ones. Simplicity isn’t laziness—it’s clarity.
Less but better (Primary source)
Less but Better isn’t a comprehensive catalog of Dieter Rams’ work or a complete history of Braun. Instead, it’s something more valuable: a deep dive into the thinking behind some of the twentieth century’s most enduring product designs.
More about “Less but better” →
“Good design is as little as possible. Less, but better, because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
Dieter Rams
“I once said that my aim is to leave out everything superfluous in order to allow the essential to come through.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source“The Braun design department was always involved in self-initiated design studies alongside the usual daily workload. I believe that it is very important for designers to have the creative space to develop and refine their own ideas. Most of our studies never went into production—for various reasons—but they often gave important impulses to product development and our regular design work.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source“Colour was always used extremely sparingly [in Braun hi-fi appliances] and then only to provide information.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source“Good design is environmentally friendly. Design can and must maintain its contribution towards protecting and sustaining the environment. This does not just include combatting physical pollution, but also visual pollution and destruction of our environment as well.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source“Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
— Albert Einstein Disputed“The design of products has a duty to contribute to a sustainable reduction in the number of products as a whole. Therefore the goal for product culture in the coming decades will be ‘less, but better’.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source“There is no little enemy.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Good design is innovative. Good design must be useful. Good design is aesthetic design. Good design makes a product understandable. Good design is honest. Good design is unobtrusive. Good design is long-lasting. Good design is consistent in every detail. Good design is environmentally friendly. And last but not least, good design is as little design as possible.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source