--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the most significant design…" description: "\"One of the most significant design principles is to omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.\" — Dieter Rams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg" --- # One of the most significant design principles is to omit… ![“One of the most significant design principles is to omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.” quote by Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg) > “One of the most significant design principles is to omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.” [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. Emphasize importance by removing unnecessary elements, focusing attention on what truly matters. **In simple terms:** Remove the unimportant to highlight the important. Key Takeaway Simplify to clarify. Themes design minimalism focus Mood reflective instructive Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - product design - graphic design - architecture - user interface - branding Key Concepts essentialism visual hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - What could you eliminate to improve clarity? - How does removal affect perception? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification can strip needed functionality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) ## Related quotes > [“I cannot emphasize enough how important the selection, training, testing, evaluation, and sorting out of people is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-cannot-emphasize-enough-how-important-the-selection-training/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Just as predatory animals follow a similar general design and behave in similar ways, so organizations, especially those in competition with one another, must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/just-as-predatory-animals-follow-a-similar-general-design-and-behave/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [“The program is grounded in 10 design principles, the aim of which is to create innovative solutions to intractable health problems…In other words, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cerrato/the-program-is-grounded-in-10-design-principles-the-aim-of-which-is/) Paul Cerrato > [My homes are similar in style because the same design principles run through all areas of my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rocha/my-homes-are-similar-in-style-because-the-same-design-principles-run/) [John Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rocha/) > [“Foundational design principles regarding aesthetics, symbolism and meaning of place were for the old-timer carpenter, simply routine. Unfortunately, these principles began to lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-taylor-scarlett/foundational-design-principles-regarding-aesthetics-symbolism-and/) Shannon Taylor Scarlett > [Peter Keating: "Do you always have to have a purpose? Do you always have to be so damn serious? Can't you ever do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/peter-keating-do-you-always-have-to-have-a-purpose-do-you-always-have/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The truth seems . . . to be that in the ultimate and essential problem the economic factor is relatively superficial and unimportant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-in-the-ultimate-and-essential-problem-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [One can only continue to expect to be read if one omits everything that is unimportant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/one-can-only-continue-to-expect-to-be-read-if-one-omits-everything/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [The older I grow the less I esteem mere ideas. In politics, particularly, they are transient and unimportant. . . . There are only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-older-i-grow-the-less-i-esteem-mere-ideas-in-politics/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [What you really want to do in investments is figure out what's important and knowable. If it's unimportant or unknowable you forget about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/what-you-really-want-to-do-in-investments-is-figure-out-what-s/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [There was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyway always yield to the stronger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/there-was-no-point-in-seeking-to-convert-the-intellectuals-for/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [About myself - no. I'm unimportant, an observer, a wandering animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/about-myself-no-i-m-unimportant-an-observer-a-wandering-animal/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [A man has only a limited number of ways in which he can express strong emotions or violent passions. He uses the same gestures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadeusz-borowski/a-man-has-only-a-limited-number-of-ways-in-which-he-can-express/) [Tadeusz Borowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadeusz-borowski/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## 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/) > [A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/a-product-is-bought-to-be-used-it-has-to-satisfy-certain-criteria-not/) [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/) [Explore all 44 Dieter Rams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) ## More Design quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) Fang Chen > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the most significant design principles is to omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dieter Rams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/one-of-the-most-significant-design-principles-is-to-omit-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/one-of-the-most-significant-design-principles-is-to-omit-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/dieter-rams-15086_design_one-of-the-most-significant-design-princ_1326637.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the most significant design principles is to omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.” — Dieter Rams", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dieter Rams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the most significant design...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/one-of-the-most-significant-design-principles-is-to-omit-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/one-of-the-most-significant-design-principles-is-to-omit-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```