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This article on Slate about Japanese design retailer Muji (think: Target, Ikea) sums it up:

Muji contends that design needn’t announce itself—rather, it can become apparent to you through use, over time. Nor is Muji interested in capitalizing on consumers’ seemingly insatiable appetite for designer goods. From day one, the company has maintained a “no brand” credo, refusing to put its name on any of its products. And although many Muji products are designed with guidance from the most thoughtful designers working today (Naoto Fukasawa, Enzo Mari, Jasper Morrison, Konstantin Grcic, and Sam Hecht among them), Muji does not promote or even discuss its relationships with these luminaries.

We need more of that spirit in design, and less ego-driven work that serves no one but the designer. That type of work only debases the nature of design, and the products such work creates.

The boys at 37signals posted a really good “sunspots” today. The Elliot Noyes: father of corporate design, the Wall Street Journal article on social sites creating hidden influencers and the restaurant article from satisfaction are great takes on the importance of design and respecting the customer as an input to great design.

In particular, check out the getsatisfaction blog, as it’s chock-a-block full of good insights for customer service.