Dieter Rams As Little Design As Possible

Dieter Rams is one of the most influential product designers of the twentieth century. Even if you don't immediately recognize his name, you have almost certainly used one of the radios, clocks, lighters, juicers, shelves or hundreds of other products he designed. He is famous not only for this vast array of well-formed products, but for his remarkably prescient ideas about the correct function of design in the messy, out-of-control world we inhabit today. These ideas are summed up in his 'ten principles' of good design: good design is innovative, useful, and aesthetic. Good design makes a product easily understood. Good design is unobtrusive, honest, durable, thorough, and concerned with the environment. Most of all, good design is as little design as possible. In that spirit, this monograph is as little book as possible. It is a clear, comprehensive and beautiful presentation of Dieter Rams' life and his work. It is a must-have book for anyone interested in Rams' work, his legacy, and his ideas about how to live.

The definitive monograph on Dieter Rams, one of the most influential product designers of the twentieth century As head of design at Braun from 1961 to 1995, Dieter Rams created some of the twentieth century's most iconic objects. Rams's life and work are indelibly linked to his thoughts about how people live, and how they can live better. Products he designed in the 1960s are still produced and sold today, and his ideas on good design continue to inspire designers and consumers. Now available again with a stunning new cover, this comprehensive monograph, with a foreword by Jonathan (Jony) Ive, former chief design officer of Apple, explores not only Rams's life and work, but also his design philosophy. The book includes detailed text covering Rams's life, the intellectual context in which he worked, his designs for Braun and Vitsoe, and the ideas and lectures he developed as an advocate for good design. Sketches and photographs of finished products and prototypes provide insight into Rams's design process, diverse archival material gives a complete picture of his life and work, and specially commissioned photographs of Dieter Rams's house and the Braun archive provide an exclusive glimpse of the world's most complete collection of Rams's designs. Known for the hundreds of iconic products he designed for Braun and Vitsoe, this comprehensive and exhaustive monograph also features Rams's only architectural work and the ideas about living sustainably embodied in his 'ten commandments'.

Presents a catalog of an exhibition showcasing the products, sketches, and models of industrial designer Dieter Rams.

Exquisitely produced to reflect Dieter Rams' aesthetic philosophy, this book presents highlights from a forty-year career designing iconic consumer products that enhance our daily lives. For decades, anyone who cared about product design looked to the Braun label when choosing their appliances, radios, and other consumer items. Now Dieter Rams, the guiding force behind the Braun look, breaks down his design principles and processes in this elegant book. Enumerating each of his ten principles such as good design is innovative; good design is aesthetic; good design is useful, etc., this book presents one hundred items that embody these guidelines. Readers will find items that are familiar such as the ubiquitous coffee grinder but also those that are more unusual such as shelving systems and cigarette lighters. A fascinating essay places Dieter Rams in the context of modern design, from Bauhaus to Philip Johnson. Archival materials include photos of Rams' design team and excerpts from his publications and speeches. The book closes with a chronological overview of design icons, categorized by function, that show the enormous breadth of Rams' vision. Taken together, these images and texts offer the most comprehensive overview of Dieter Rams' work to date and will serve as both a reference and an inspiration for anyone interested in how and why good design matters.

Made in close collaboration with Dieter Rams himself, this catalogue raisonné is the ultimate reference on one of the most influential product designers of all time

The fertile dual evolution of design under socialism and capitalism in postwar Germany The cheap, colorful plastic designs of East Germany pitted against the cool functionalism of West German design: German Design 1949-1989: Two Countries, One Historydoes away with such clichés. More than 30 years after German reunification, it presents a comprehensive overview of German design history of the postwar period for the first time ever. With over 300 illustrations and numerous examples from the fields of design--fashion, furniture, graphics, automobile, industrial and interiors--the book shows how design featured in daily life on both sides of the Wall, the important part it played in the reconstruction process and how it served as a propaganda tool during the Cold War. Key objects and protagonists--from Dieter Rams or Otl Aicher in the West to Rudolf Horn or Renate Müller in the East--are presented alongside formative factors such as the Bauhaus legacy and important institutions such as the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Ulm. The exceptional case of the division of Germany allows a unique comparative perspective on the role design played in promoting socialism and capitalism. While in the Federal Republic to the West, it became a generator of the export economy and the "Made in Germany" brand, in the East it was intended to fuel the socialist planned economy and affordability for broad sections of the population was key. While the book highlights the different realities of East and West, the many cross references that connected design in both are also examined. It impressively illustrates the many facets of German design history in the postwar period: from the domestic sphere to global politics, from industrial products to design's role as a tool of protest that foreshadowed the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Arranged by category, these 732 black-and-white American trademarks and symbols represent a variety of fields, including entertainment, education, real estate, insurance, food and beverages, retail, transportation, utilities, and industry. Captions.

Braun is not merely a trademark; it stands for an allencompassing concept. For the last five decades, this concept has spawned innovative products with an unprecedented regularity that begs to be explained - especially as the era spanned by the history of Braun design is not exactly one characterized by continuity. Instead, the second half of the 20th century witnessed a dramatic change in living conditions.