The term "Form Follows Function" was coined by architect Luis Sullivan, but he later attributed the core idea to Marcus Vitruvius Pollio the Roman architect, engineer, and author who first asserted in his book De architectura that a structure must exhibit the three qualities of firmitas, utilitas, venustas – that is, it must be solid, useful, beautiful. "Form follows function" is opposed to the idea of "Form follows precedent".

Although this philosophy comes from Architecture, it is in fact a general design principle to follow for good design, especially if you are interested in user-centric design approach.

In our pursuit to create products, we focus a lot on the "Form" and lose focus on the "Function". In the technological world that we live in today, many times we drift towards solutions that are driven by technology rather than user needs. Keeping myself reminded of this design philosophy protects me from drifting away and helps keep my focus on the users and the function.