Simple Design Rules

Nov 1, 2011

I read this short post by Marco Arment and thought it was worth re-posting here. It’s four simple rules on how to bring good design to a platform, which I think can apply to most projects.

How to bring good design to a platform


  1. 1. Demonstrate from the top that high quality and attention to detail are prioritized and appreciated above everything else, including being the first to market, having the most features, or having the most aggressive prices. If you can get those as well, that’s great, but quality will not be sacrificed to do so.
  2. 2. Instill these values in your staff. If you can’t, hire a staff for which you can. Better yet, hire a staff for which you don’t need to.
  3. 3. Aggressively pursue simplification, elegance, craftsmanship, and the highest-class user experiences in the product line. Ruthlessly cut or hold features or entire products that aren’t good enough.
  4. 4. Make it pretty.

How not to bring good design to a platform


  1. 1. Skip steps 1–3 above.

    2. Link: How to bring good design to a platform →

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