--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A product is bought to be used. It has to…" description: "\"A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/dieter-rams-15086_aesthetic_a-product-is-bought-to-be-used-it-has-to_615670.png" --- # A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain… ![“A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.” quote by Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/dieter-rams-15086_aesthetic_a-product-is-bought-to-be-used-it-has-to_615670.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/dieter-rams-15086_aesthetic_a-product-is-bought-to-be-used-it-has-to_615670.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/dieter-rams-15086_aesthetic_a-product-is-bought-to-be-used-it-has-to_615670.png) > “A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.” [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design must serve both functional and emotional needs, focusing on usefulness while eliminating distractions. **In simple terms:** Good design meets practical and emotional needs, avoiding unnecessary elements. Key Takeaway Prioritize purpose and simplicity. Themes functionality psychology aesthetics minimalism Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product development - interior design - branding - consumer electronics Key Concepts user-centered design emotional design form follows function Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance utility with emotional appeal? - What elements might distract from a product’s purpose? A Different Perspective Neglecting aesthetics can reduce appeal despite functionality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Good design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-design/) [Psychological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychological/) ## Related quotes > [Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-emphasises-the-usefulness-of-a-product-whilst/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design, at least part of the time, includes the criterion of being direct in relation to the problem at hand - not obscure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chermayeff/good-design-at-least-part-of-the-time-includes-the-criterion-of-being/) [Ivan Chermayeff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chermayeff/) > [Good design means as little design as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-means-as-little-design-as-possible/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is thorough down to the last detail - Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-thorough-down-to-the-last-detail-nothing-must-be/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is thorough, down to the last detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-thorough-down-to-the-last-detail/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people; design is made for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/you-cannot-understand-good-design-if-you-do-not-understand-people/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design makes a product understandable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-makes-a-product-understandable/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-honest/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is as little design as possible. Less, but better - because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-as-little-design-as-possible-less-but-better-because/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is innovative Gives a product utility Is aesthetic Makes a product easy to understand Is unobtrusive Is honest Is long-lived Is consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-innovative-gives-a-product-utility-is-aesthetic-makes/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great design is making something memorable and meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-making-something-intelligible-and-memorable-great/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good designers must always be avant-gardists, always one step ahead of the times. They should – and must – question everything generally thought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-designers-must-always-be-avant-gardists-always-one-step-ahead-of/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is innovative 2. Good design makes a product useful 3. Good design is aesthetic 4. Good design makes a product understandable 5.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-innovative-2-good-design-makes-a-product-useful-3-good/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is long-lasting! It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-long-lasting-it-avoids-being-fashionable-and-therefore/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design encourages a viewer to want to learn more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-isley/good-design-encourages-a-viewer-to-want-to-learn-more/) [Alexander Isley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-isley/) ## More by Dieter Rams > [Good design is long-lasting! It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-long-lasting-it-avoids-being-fashionable-and-therefore/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is innovative 2. Good design makes a product useful 3. Good design is aesthetic 4. Good design makes a product understandable 5.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-innovative-2-good-design-makes-a-product-useful-3-good/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Products have to be designed in a way that they are comprehensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/products-have-to-be-designed-in-a-way-that-they-are-comprehensible/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [I like to be in New York. Le Corbusier described it in the 1930s as a 'wonderful catastrophe.' It is still a wonderful catastrophe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/i-like-to-be-in-new-york-le-corbusier-described-it-in-the-1930s-as-a/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good designers must always be avant-gardists, always one step ahead of the times. They should – and must – question everything generally thought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-designers-must-always-be-avant-gardists-always-one-step-ahead-of/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Things which are different in order simply to be different are seldom better, but that which is made to be better is almost always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/things-which-are-different-in-order-simply-to-be-different-are-seldom/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [I hate everything that is driven by fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/i-hate-everything-that-is-driven-by-fashion/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [I am not an early bird. I go to bed normally between midnight and 1 o'clock, so it is understandable that I cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/i-am-not-an-early-bird-i-go-to-bed-normally-between-midnight-and-1-o/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Nothing works without details. They are everything, the baseline of quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/nothing-works-without-details-they-are-everything-the-baseline-of/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Not the spectacular things are the important things - the unspectacular things are the important things, especially in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/not-the-spectacular-things-are-the-important-things-the-unspectacular/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [As designers we have a great responsibility. I believe designers should eliminate the unnecessary. That means eliminating everything that is modish because this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/as-designers-we-have-a-great-responsibility-i-believe-designers/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great design is making something memorable and meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-making-something-intelligible-and-memorable-great/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [As designers, we have a great responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/as-designers-we-have-a-great-responsibility/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [There is a lot of bad architecture. What we need more is to look at how our landscape should look in the next decades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/there-is-a-lot-of-bad-architecture-what-we-need-more-is-to-look-at/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [Good design is innovative Gives a product utility Is aesthetic Makes a product easy to understand Is unobtrusive Is honest Is long-lived Is consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/good-design-is-innovative-gives-a-product-utility-is-aesthetic-makes/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) [Explore all 44 Dieter Rams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A product is bought to be used. 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