I was asked by the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany to share my online design philosophy with their students.

1. eric reiss
@elreiss
bauhaus university
27 january 2011
weimar, germany
a design manifesto
for the interactive ageweb dogma

2. best prac·tice
noun
1 : best way of doing a thing
2 : a tested idea, method, or device

3. in·no·va·tion
noun
1 : the introduction of something new
2 : a new idea, method, or device

4. Three bad reasons to innovate
To differentiate your product
To be different
To satisfy your ego

8. Experiment

9. Invention

10. Invention

11. Innovation
15 April 1912

12. Invention

13. Invention

14. to solve a problem!
There is only one reason to innovate…

15. Invention
Innovation Lifecycle
Innovation
Best practice
Habit
Innovation
Best practice
Fashion
Old-fashioned
Time
Progress

16. best practicevs. innovation

17. People
Processes
Technologies

18. dog·ma
noun
1 : a tenent or code of tenents
2 : a doctrine or body of doctrines
formally proclaimed by a church

20. Skiing attire today

21. Walter Gropius, 1932
(tie and cufflinks?)
Times change. But we still stand on long boards and carry poles.

22. And fashions change online, too…
“Links should be blue and underlined”
“Flash is 98% bad”
“Text should be no more than 10 lines”

23. The questions:
Is fashion avoidable in a
design philosophy?
Does technology always
drive design?

24. The 1919 Bauhaus Manifesto

25. The 1923 Bauhaus curriculum

26. Three “modern” lamps
Poul Henningsen – 1927 (The “PH” lamp)
“Physics of light”
Wilhelm Wagenfeld – 1924 (The “’Bauhaus” lamp)
“Geometry of form”
George Best – 1928 (The “Bestlite”)
“Innovative production methods”

28. Three Danish water pitchers
Holmegaard Glassworks – circa 1880
Henning Koppel for Georg Jensen – 1956
Erik Magnussen for Stelton – 1975
What do they have in common?
Each is a container featuring a handle and a spout!

30. Do design rules stifle creativity?
NO!
But only when the rules build
on generic principles.
(easier said than done)

31. The concept
Create a set of best practices
that transcend both technology
and fashion

40. 1. Anything that exists only to
satisfy the internal politics
of the site owner must be
eliminated.
1.

57. S E

60. 1. Anything that exists only to
satisfy the ego of the
designer must be eliminated.
2.

64. 1. Anything that is irrelevant
within the context of the page
must be eliminated.
3.

69. 1. Any feature or technique that
reduces the visitor’s ability
to navigate freely must be
eliminated.
4.

73. 1. Any interactive object that
forces the visitor to guess
its meaning must be
eliminated.
5.

78. 1. No software, apart from the
browser itself, must be
required to get the site to
work correctly.
6.

82. 1. Content must be readable
first, printable second,
downloadable third.
7.

83. 2006

84. 2008

85. 2010

87. 1. Usability must never be
sacrificed for the sake of a
style guide.
8.

95. 1. No visitor must be forced to
register or surrender
personal data unless the site
owner is unable to provide a
service or complete a
transaction without it.
9.

107. 1. Break any of these rules
sooner than do anything
outright barbarous!
10.

108. George Orwell
Author: Animal Farm, “1984”

109. Please visit: www.wordsatplay.com

110. If we do not demand better websites,
we will never get them.
Don’t just prevent bad things from happening,
you can make wonderful things happen.

111. Danke!

112. Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at:
The FatDUX Group ApS
Strandøre 15
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Office: (+45) 39 29 67 77
Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44
Twitter: @elreiss
info@fatdux.com
www.fatdux.com