Pearlman Advisors & Investments

Every year financial institutions develop thousands of new investment products, yet intuitive, functional design is rarely the central concern in how these products are structured. Dieter Ram would be disappointed. Ram wants more. "Companies or CEOs that comprehensively take design seriously can sadly still only be counted on my 10 fingers," he said in a recent WSJ article. To guide designers, Ram has articulated Ten Principles of Good Design. The financial industry could go a long way toward gaining trust with the public (and selling a lot more, too) by taking these principles to heart.