What Makes Design "Good"?

Most industrial designers live to create “good design.” Those two words motivate whole design careers, as it has mine.  Consumers love good design; companies strive to build good design; and design awards venerate it. But in this over-hyped world we live in where grandiose claims about goodness are rampant and often disingenuous, what exactly defines design excellence?

It’s often hard for consumers to navigate through all the marketing jargon and the sheer quantity of product offered, let alone judge if something is a good design. One could say the goodness of an individual product has been superseded with a wider proposition. This includes many other influencing factors on a judgement of excellence. Brand claims, reviews and social imagery all compete for our attention and good design can get lost in the shuffle.

We generally think of good design as being useful, appropriate, beautiful, functional, responsible and high quality. Good design creates success by some measure too but here we’re only after the intrinsic qualities of what actually makes design good.

Good design begins with purpose. It feels inevitable, like it always belonged here. It has a sense of clarity in the solution, where every detail contributes to the whole. It solves a problem and earns its right to exist by being useful and by being used amply over time. It offers tangible value. A good design shows evidence of a purposeful intent, whether that’s a special new insight or a story that yearns to be told. Like art, good design reveals what its maker was thinking, while at the same time revealing truths about the thing itself.

Good design has integrity. It’s honest in what it claims to be and doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. In other words, it’s genuine. It doesn’t need to shout for attention or be overloaded with features. In fact, some of the best design is quietly radical - it subverts expectations without screaming about it. The motto “less is more” still pertains.

Good design is responsible. In a world saturated with consumption, it considers its impact. Ecological stewardship can’t be an afterthought. A truly good design doesn’t just serve its user; it respects the ecosystem it enters and lasts a long time. We’ve produced enough landfill masquerading as innovation. The future demands better.

Good design respects its user. It understands people first and foremost, not as demographics or data points, but as emotional, unpredictable beings. It meets them where they are and gives them something better, often without them needing to ask. It’s not just functional; it’s empathic.

Good design evokes joy and wonder. Whether it’s a seamless interaction, a beautiful form, a clever mechanism, or just the way something feels in your hand - it makes you smile, ponder, and imagine. That moment of emotional resonance is the signature of a well-executed idea. Good design plus good technology is the magical combo that generates the “wow-factor.”

Good design disappears when it works and reappears on your terms. It blends into our lives so elegantly we barely notice it - until you realize how much easier, richer, or more beautiful your day became because of it. That’s the paradox of good design: it sometimes hides in plain sight.

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