Long-Lasting Design is Good Design

Last week our post was about Dieter Rams’ 6th principle of design: good design is honest. This week we’re diving into his 7th: good design is long-lasting. What does this mean, for something to be “long-lasting?” In the ever changing realm of technology it can be difficult to describe something as “long-lasting,” but in design it makes complete sense.

Let us explain…

If technology is always changing and trends are always coming-and-going, don’t we want to design something that will survive all these changes? Yes, we most certainly do! Because if we can manage to develop a design that can stand the test of time, then that means there will be far less complications and changes in the future. Sounds pretty great right?

Long-Lasting Design is Good Design - Spark Sites

So how can we create designs that can stand the test of time? Simple: beware of the trends!

Trends are interesting. They’re like a vortexual (not a word… definitely made that up) facade – they trick you into believing something is the coolest thing you’ve ever seen and then suck you into a hole of allowing that “thing” to consume all you do. For a more visual example in the world of web design, lets talk about carousel headers. We’re not saying all image carousel headers are bad, but many fail the test of time. They use to be super trendy, but users are all about speed. Regardless of how dope your website is, a user wants to spend as little time as possible on there. Maybe in 2008 carousel headers were all the rage, but 2020 people aren’t about to linger around to see all the slides in your carousel. Plus, all too often carousel headers don’t translate well on mobile or tablet. The words are being cut off or the image is cropping in a weird way to compensate for the screen size. They can be nice – but overall they fail the test of time.

So what are some trends we can count on sticking around? Here is a list of elements we believe will be sticking around for the long haul:

  • Clear, easy-to-read typography
  • Mobile first design
  • Image heavy websites

If you use these elements in your website design then it’s likely your website design as a whole will be long-lasting. You don’t want the way your website looks to become the butt of the joke later. You know what we’re talking about (any website created circa early 2000s). Focusing more so on how your website functions rather than stuffing it with trendy material is the key to making sure whatever you design is long-lasting and here to stay.

Next week we will draw out Dieter Rams’ 8th principle of design: good design is thorough down to the last detail. It’ll be all about why we shouldn’t be lazy in our web design. You’ll definitely want to read!

recent posts

Top Items to Include on a Gym or Fitness Website

Top Items to Include on a Gym or Fitness Website

What should be included on my new gym or fitness website? When creating a new website for a fitness studio or gym, a variety of elements need to be included. A visitor should be able to find all of the information they seek about the business from the homepage, and it...

SEO Best Practices: Always Serve Quality Content

SEO Best Practices: Always Serve Quality Content

Quality content is an important part of any great SEO campaign. In this post we discuss why search engines want you to write quality content, what are the consequences of adding low-quality content to your website, and some steps to follow when writing content for...

3 Scheduling Apps that Make Your Life Easier

3 Scheduling Apps that Make Your Life Easier

Scheduling is a crucial part of running any business. Knowing when your appointments are happening, when your delivery is coming or even when you can get more inventory are all important parts of running your day-to-day operations. We’re big believers in best practices which is why we thought we’d share with you what to look for when choosing an app that will help you manage your company’s precious time.