8 Principles of Good Design 好设计的8个原则

Good Design / 好设计：

1. is a good investment. / 是一项好投资。
This originally started as “Good Design is Good Business”courtesy of Thomas J. Watson. However in today’s commercial environment, most people understand this concept. Unfortunately not many actually see it as an investment that has tangible returns. Therefore most Return on Investment (ROI) calculations can be applied here. This means there has to be risk assessments, planning, budget controls, and long term goals set out. Design should never be just about making something look good and flogging it for extra cash.

IBM前总裁小托马斯·沃森最早提出“好设计就是好生意”。在今天的商业环境里，相信绝大部分人都理解这个理念。遗憾的是，并没有太多人真正将设计视为一项能带来有形回报的投资。正因为是一项投资，大多数对于投资回报率（ROI）的运算亦适用于设计。这意味着必须进行风险评估、规划、预算控制和长期目标。设计绝不应该只是使某个东西看起来漂亮，然后为达成这个目标而额外烧钱。

2. is all encompassing. / 无所不包。
Good design is all encompassing and unifying. It should not just be about the product or look. It should include every single aspect that revolves around aproduct, including things like user interface, packaging and branding etc.

好设计是无所不包、统为一体的。它不应只关乎产品或外观。围绕着一个产品的每一个方面都属于设计的范畴，包括用户界面、包装和品牌等等。

3. does not exist in vacuum. / 并非存在于真空之中。
Nothing comes from nothing. The best designs works best for the context it was developed in. Good understanding of user needs, a critical insight on a problem, and a well-defined brief is important for producing the good design.

无中不能生有。最好的设计在其孕育成长的语境当中最能发挥效果。充分理解用户需求，以批判性眼光去分析一个问题，提供定义明确的指示等等，这些对于产生好的设计都非常重要。

4. satisfies all requirements. / 满足所有要求。

A design solution cannot be successful if it does not satisfy all the requirements of the user, business and development constraints. This is more about prioritizing rather than about compromise. Pick your fights, learn to negotiate, and make sure you win the war not the battle.

如果一个设计解决方案不能满足用户、企业和发展制约因素的所有要求，就不可能成为一个成功的解决方案。这与其说是妥协折衷，不如说是对轻重缓急的判断。选好攻击点，学会谈判，确保自己打赢的不只是一次战役，而是整场战争。

5. is beautiful. / 是漂亮的。
Not much needs to be said here, except our visual sense is one of the strongest of our 5 senses. There is no justification for ugly and over styled products. In other words you cannot polish crap. So it is better to be self-critical always, rather than face the consequences when the market tells you otherwise.

对此无需赘言，除了必须说明一点：视觉是人类五感中最强的感官。没有任何正当的理由可以为丑陋的和过于夸张的产品进行辩护。换言之，你是无法把废物打磨得闪闪发亮。所以，作为设计师，最好时刻进行自我批评，而不是等着市场来告诉你你的设计很丑。

6. is innovative, logical and clever. / 是创新的、合乎逻辑的、聪明的。
Good design does not stop at being beautiful. Good design goes beyond aesthetics, as it also needs to be an innovative and clever solution that evokes an emotional response from the user. Good design just makes sense.

好设计并不止于外观的漂亮。一个好设计是超越美学的，它还应该是一个创新而聪明的解决方案，能唤起用户的情感反应。好设计应该合理。

7. is intuitive and uncomplicated. / 是直观而简单的。
Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Simplicityis the ultimate sophistication”. Making a product simple to use, intuitive and uncomplicated is probably one ofthe hardest things for a designer to do. It requires passion and dedication at every stage of the products’ development cycle.

列奥纳多·达·芬奇说过：“至繁归于至简。”使一个产品易于操作、直观而不复杂很可能是设计师最棘手的难题。要做到这一点，需要在产品开发周期的每一个阶段都灌注热情，全情投入。

8. is strategic. / 具有策略性。
This is the last and the most important one. Design can and should be applied in all aspects of an organization. My favorite thought is that, Design should be a vital function in any organization, just like finance, accounting or logistics etc. This way Design is involved at the highest level of decision-making, and part of why an organization exists.

这是最后一点，也是最重要的一点。设计能够也应当被应用于一个机构的方方面面。就像财务、会计或物流等功能部门一样，在任何机构中，设计都应该发挥重要职能。如此，设计参与到最高层面的决策之中，也成为一个机构之所以存在的部分原因。