Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams Impact on Product Design

The german industrial design pioneer is known for creating modernist collection of household products for Braun, a german electrical products and appliance manufacturer company. Dieter Rams started his career as an architect, was influenced by the Bauhaus movement and joined Braun in 1955 to work on the interior design of its offices. Rams became a student of the Ulm School of Design which was a successor to the Bauhaus and headed the design department at Braun from 1961 to 1995. He was influenced heavily by the Bauhaus, the German school which was a component of modernism and a lot of different disciplines.

He revamped the way we think about consumer products today, saying that “Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.” Dieter Rams not only designed products, but he designed a whole environment. A world in which people could live in. A look of certain color palette and a certain approach which makes his design so convincing. He showed that design can have a very strong orientation.

The clocks, radios, calculators, cameras, furniture and various kitchen appliances that Rams created for Braun are still regarded as influential to this day and are considered as seminal works of the 20th century. He invented consumer product design that we’re so used to today and his design philosophy has shaped the thinking of current generation about making and consuming.

TP1 was one of the first transistor radios at Braun combined with a record player. Rams like to call it “The First Walkman.” The record was unconventionally played from the bottom, as the head rose from a slot in the body of the device. 

Dieter Rams brought less but better approach to the products he created and his aesthetically pleasing, utilitarian and minimal designs have influenced the world of design till date. A lot of designers like Jony Ive who is the designer behind iPhone, iPod and iPad has taken inspiration from Dieter Rams work. Jonathan Ive infact calls Dieter Rams his role model and inspiration.  

Dieter Rams Influence on Jony Eve and Apple

If you really want to see the impact of Dieter Rams, you need to look at the Apple products that are used by millions worldwide. The appliances that Rams designed at Braun are very similar of today's Apple devices. Jony Ive has famously remarked that his work is "beyond improvement." Their rounded edges and clean lines are very reminiscent of today's Apple devices.

The Braun T3 pocket radio, designed by Dieter Rams in 1958 has directly inspired the look of the iPod. The graphics around the tuner and the hardware interface where your fingers touch had a huge impact on Apple and you see a clear resemblance of that in the iPod dial.

Dieter Rams’s design is not just design, it’s a whole attitude. It’s about getting rid of excess, visual clutter and living with what you need.

Jony Ive writes on Dieter Rams that “the products resonates so deeply with me that nearly forty years on I remember my sense of it with startling clarity.” He further defines his work as, "Bold, pure, perfectly proportioned, coherent and effortless. At a glance, you knew exactly what it was and exactly how to use it.” A lot of Braun products designed by Rams has been incorporated in Apple’s devices and apps. 

Braun's TG 60 reel-to-reel tape recorder from 1965, which famously informed the original design of Apple's podcast app.

What We Have Learned From Dieter Rams at Svenklas

1. LESS BUT BETTER

According to Dieter Rams, in order to understand good design, you have to understand people. Design should be as simple as possible so that it can be recognized by everyone. 

The age where we consume thoughtlessly spiralled with the idea of thoughtless design is over. Dieter Rams’s “Less, but better” is not just a design concept, it’s also about our behaviour. Less would be better everywhere. Today, no industry is interested in repairing things. We have to get away from the culture of mindless consumption. His design philosophy is a rejection of the consumerism that has defined our age.

His pursuit to refine a product to its simplest form so it actually serves its purpose as intended is a testament to his design aesthetic to show as little design as possible. For him, this is also of social importance as it results in waste avoidance.

Dieter Rams SK4 radio-phonograph for Braun from 1956. Also known as "Snow White’s Coffin”, the SK4 was a turning point in design. The first sketches were made by Dieter with a wooden case.

2. GOOD DESIGN IS BUILT TO LAST

Dieter Rams design philosophy is centered around creating products that would last a lifetime. His quest of long-lasting design was a continuation of his less but better philosophy. He believed that things must be designed so they can be reused.

“I always strive for things to be sustainable. By that I mean the development of long-lasting products, products that don’t age prematurely, which won’t become out of style. Products that will remain neutral, that you can live with longer.”

According to Dieter Rams, it’s always better to improve things than to be constantly forced to come up with something new. If we start with the outside, then it will always be formalistic. We should always start from inside to outside to ensure timelessnees of a product and making sure they will be loved for as long as possible. 

3. DESIGN IS ABOUT FUNCTION, NOT FASHION

Dieter Rams always propagated that good design was about achieving both beauty and utility. His commitment to functionalism is a common theme that binds all his projects. He always wanted to make products which not only command attention through appearance, but become more alluring with continued usage and an enduring aesthetic.

His design process was centered on the connection between inside and outside elements to create a single product which binds these two forces. This concept was far ahead of his times where he designed for the customer and not for himself.

Rams first focus was always to create products that are useful and then appreciate the aesthetics that follows. This meant that functionalism was always at the centre of his designs. He believed that a product should do its function in relative anonymity along any other product from any era.

606 Universal Shelving System clearly reflects Dieter Rams philosophy to design which is to always keep in mind the reality in which people live. It’s a master piece in form and function and is as popular as it was when it launched.

In the late 1970s, he distilled his design philosophy into ten principles which have shaped generations of designers nationally and internationally.

Ten Principles For Good Design by Dieter Rams

How We Imbibe Dieter Rams's Design Aesthetics and Philosophy at Svenklas