What is an example of less but better?

Dieter Rams' design: Strip a product to its essence and what remains works better than a feature-stuffed rival.

Where do you see less but better in everyday life?

Dieter Rams' design; The focused menu; The packed calendar; The capsule wardrobe; The product roadmap.

For any project, ask "what's the one thing that, done well, makes the rest easier or unnecessary?" and do that first.

Essentialism · Greg McKeown

Curated by Paulo de Vries · reviewed 2026-05-30

Do fewer things, but do them excellently. Subtracting the trivial many to focus on the vital few beats spreading yourself across everything.

Dieter Rams' design
Strip a product to its essence and what remains works better than a feature-stuffed rival.
The focused menu
A restaurant that cooks ten dishes perfectly beats one juggling a hundred mediocre ones.
The packed calendar
Saying no to most meetings lets the few that matter actually get your full attention.
The capsule wardrobe
Fewer, better clothes that all go together beats a closet full of barely-worn impulse buys.
The product roadmap
Shipping one feature that's loved beats five that are tolerated.

For any project, ask "what's the one thing that, done well, makes the rest easier or unnecessary?" and do that first.
Regularly cut: delete features, commitments, and possessions that aren't clearly earning their place.
Resist adding; default to the smallest set of elements that fully does the job.

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