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DIETER RAMS AS LITTLE DESIGN AS POSSIBLE, THEWORK OF DIETER RAMS
'Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design' - Dieter Rams. Dieter Rams' 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 being produced and sold today - only one demonstration of the strength of his work. This comprehensive monograph covers both Rams' life and his work, as well as his ideas on good design, which continue to inspire designers and consumers today. A personal foreword by Jonathan Ive evokes the influence that Rams has had on his own work and, by extention, the objects with which so many of us share our everyday lives. An introduction and an essay by Klaus Kemp tell the story of Rams' early life, his training as an architect, and the intellectual context in which his ideas were developed. The next four chapters examine Rams' work and his life - which are more or less synonymous - in depth. This includes his role at Braun as well as the work he did for the furniture company Vitsoe. Each chapter includes sketches, prototypes, finished products and the marketing for those products, giving a complete picture of Rams' work and its context. Two other chapters in this section present Rams' own house, the only work of architecture that he completed, and examine the products he designed at the level of detail, a crucial aspect to his work. A further chapter examines Rams' 'ten commandments' of good design and his credo, 'less but better', in the context of his role as head of design at Braun, and a final chapter explores his legacy in the work of contemporary designers including Naoto Fukasawa, Jonathan Ive, Sam Hecht, and Konstantin Grcic. This beautifully designed book includes a wide variety of visual material, including sketches and technical drawings, photographs of Rams' work as well as his life, archival material from both Braun and Vitsoe, Ingeborg Rams' subtle photographs and Vitsoe's playful graphic design and advertising. This book will appeal not only to fans of Dieter Rams' work, but to everyone drawn to the message behind his 'ten commandments' of good design - which are really ideas about how we can all live better and more sustainable lives.
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First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 21, 2015
As a person who paid little attention to Dieter Rams before, this was an eye opening and informative book. It incorporates a brief background on Dieter Rams, the formation of Braun, and details on a number of the products Dieter was a part of.
The sections that talk about the products can feel a bit dry at times. All are worth reading for the stories behind the creation of the products. Some more rich and interesting than others. They are accompanied by marvelous photos. The pictures of Dieter's home were probably the most interesting.
The final section that talks about Dieter's thoughts on various topics, and the evolution of his design principles are gold. Every designer should buy this book to learn from the lifetime experience of Dieter.
I most appreciate that the book talks a lot about how design exists in the real world. And how it takes a team to turn a product into a reality.
I appreciate Dieter Rams infinitely more than I did before as a result of this book. Every Designer should read it, at the very least, read the last section of the copy sitting in your friends library.
The sections that talk about the products can feel a bit dry at times. All are worth reading for the stories behind the creation of the products. Some more rich and interesting than others. They are accompanied by marvelous photos. The pictures of Dieter's home were probably the most interesting.
The final section that talks about Dieter's thoughts on various topics, and the evolution of his design principles are gold. Every designer should buy this book to learn from the lifetime experience of Dieter.
I most appreciate that the book talks a lot about how design exists in the real world. And how it takes a team to turn a product into a reality.
I appreciate Dieter Rams infinitely more than I did before as a result of this book. Every Designer should read it, at the very least, read the last section of the copy sitting in your friends library.
January 12, 2020
It's a decent beautiful book with a gorgeously typeset, completed and inspiring picture of Dieter Rams works working as a Product Designer. The book includes many high-quality photographs of the best works and the teams around him at Braun.
But, in my understanding, most of the works aren't the only Rams accomplishments, there are many other designers or engineers worked on those projects, so they must have the credits too.
But, in my understanding, most of the works aren't the only Rams accomplishments, there are many other designers or engineers worked on those projects, so they must have the credits too.
September 16, 2022
Good overview of Dieter Rams' life, career at Braun, design philosophy, and legacy. He found the world chaotic and messy, and advocated for functionalist design with few colors and intuitive interfaces to bring peace and clarity into consumers' lives. Design, when done well, should be unobtrusive (hence "as little design as possible"). He eschewed fashion, ornamentation, and trends, and strove to make things that could last decades.
I developed a lot of respect for Rams and the special culture they had at Braun from reading this. They came out of postwar Germany, optimistic that they could improve people's lives on a mass scale by making everyday products. The design team was 17 people at its peak, closely-knit collaborators who would listen to jazz together outside of work. They designed over 1,000 products, 500 of which Rams played a part in.
The values he held and the consistency with which he expressed them, shown in the unchanging aesthetic of the products he designed across four decades and even in the utilitarian design of his own home, inspire me to think more about what I want to express when I am designing. For whom, and why? Does this need to be made at all? How can we make a society we can believe in?
To some he is a dogmatic figure with uncompromising values and a disregard for how he is viewed, but I see him as a hopeful and honest communicator who wanted to make guideposts for people in a world of increasing noise and complexity.
Favorite quotes:
"Dieter Rams has always been a designer's designer. The products that he and his design team created for Braun developed out of a way of thinking that came from the Bauhaus, Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm school and others as they strove to bring a marriage of form and function to the modern, industrialized world."
“Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.”
"Working for me does not mean so much designing in the usual sense of the term, but more contemplation, reading and talking. Design is in the first instance a thinking process."
"Jazz held a significant meaning for Braun: throughout the War, a somewhat subversive jazz scene survived in Frankfurt, and it blossomed after the Allies took over. Erwin and his crowd, which of course included many individuals from Braun, were very much part of this scene that, in the 1950s, had its social centre at a place called the 'Jazz Keller'. Schmittel was also a photographer and he took many images of the illustrious jazz musicians who played in Frankfurt during this time, quite a few of which were used to advertise the Braun company's audio products. Jazz suited the Braun image well: adventurous, daring and unconventional, yet highly disciplined and rigorous; constrained by set patterns and guidelines yet totally free to find new paths between them; intellectual yet undeniably wild, cool and modern. Associating Braun with jazz not only came naturally to the individuals defining the company, but it also provided a superb visual counterpoint to the rather dry, technical minimalism of the products."
"Computers did not feature significantly in the design process for much of this time, nor were there artistically styled images or renderings, says Dietrich Lubs. 'We always worked with technical drawings, not renderings. It was very important, especially for communication with the technicians, that we didn't behave like artists'. The emphasis was on clear and accurate engineering, so that the designers felt under no obligation to sell their ideas by dressing them up with pretty pictures."
"Lubs was greatly inspired by the Braun design environment. He describes the work atmosphere in the early 1960s as being 'very serious but with lots of energy'. The department, he adds, was like an apartment: 'you had to ring a doorbell to come in'. The team worked very hard at their individual projects, but communication between them was constant, so there was little need for group discussions. Although Rams was the boss, remembers Lubs, everyone else had a voice. The studio appears to have been rather like a college workshop. 'If Dieter did not like something, he would say, "Is that good?" or "Do you think it is finished?",' he recalls. 'After work the team socialized together as well,' he adds, 'bringing along their girlfriends, going out for drinks, to listen to jazz, celebrating birthdays together ... The company had a hierarchy but it was also open house. There was constant discussion, taking and giving, we were all filled with the same goal.’
"'Good design is as little design as possible' is one of Dieter Rams's most famous and favourite phrases. He means this in the sense that a well-designed product should be so good that it is barely noticeable. By omitting the unnecessary, says Rams, the essential factors come to the fore: the products become 'quiet, pleasing, comprehensible and long-lasting'. However to arrive at products with this quality the designer has to travel a very long and difficult path filled with questions, trials, discussion and experimentation. The product may be simple but the path taken to create it is highly complex for the 'true' product designer."
'Self control is very important. Although my own taste is involved it always has to be under control. Not suppressed though! Controlled!’
I developed a lot of respect for Rams and the special culture they had at Braun from reading this. They came out of postwar Germany, optimistic that they could improve people's lives on a mass scale by making everyday products. The design team was 17 people at its peak, closely-knit collaborators who would listen to jazz together outside of work. They designed over 1,000 products, 500 of which Rams played a part in.
The values he held and the consistency with which he expressed them, shown in the unchanging aesthetic of the products he designed across four decades and even in the utilitarian design of his own home, inspire me to think more about what I want to express when I am designing. For whom, and why? Does this need to be made at all? How can we make a society we can believe in?
To some he is a dogmatic figure with uncompromising values and a disregard for how he is viewed, but I see him as a hopeful and honest communicator who wanted to make guideposts for people in a world of increasing noise and complexity.
Favorite quotes:
"Dieter Rams has always been a designer's designer. The products that he and his design team created for Braun developed out of a way of thinking that came from the Bauhaus, Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm school and others as they strove to bring a marriage of form and function to the modern, industrialized world."
“Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.”
"Working for me does not mean so much designing in the usual sense of the term, but more contemplation, reading and talking. Design is in the first instance a thinking process."
"Jazz held a significant meaning for Braun: throughout the War, a somewhat subversive jazz scene survived in Frankfurt, and it blossomed after the Allies took over. Erwin and his crowd, which of course included many individuals from Braun, were very much part of this scene that, in the 1950s, had its social centre at a place called the 'Jazz Keller'. Schmittel was also a photographer and he took many images of the illustrious jazz musicians who played in Frankfurt during this time, quite a few of which were used to advertise the Braun company's audio products. Jazz suited the Braun image well: adventurous, daring and unconventional, yet highly disciplined and rigorous; constrained by set patterns and guidelines yet totally free to find new paths between them; intellectual yet undeniably wild, cool and modern. Associating Braun with jazz not only came naturally to the individuals defining the company, but it also provided a superb visual counterpoint to the rather dry, technical minimalism of the products."
"Computers did not feature significantly in the design process for much of this time, nor were there artistically styled images or renderings, says Dietrich Lubs. 'We always worked with technical drawings, not renderings. It was very important, especially for communication with the technicians, that we didn't behave like artists'. The emphasis was on clear and accurate engineering, so that the designers felt under no obligation to sell their ideas by dressing them up with pretty pictures."
"Lubs was greatly inspired by the Braun design environment. He describes the work atmosphere in the early 1960s as being 'very serious but with lots of energy'. The department, he adds, was like an apartment: 'you had to ring a doorbell to come in'. The team worked very hard at their individual projects, but communication between them was constant, so there was little need for group discussions. Although Rams was the boss, remembers Lubs, everyone else had a voice. The studio appears to have been rather like a college workshop. 'If Dieter did not like something, he would say, "Is that good?" or "Do you think it is finished?",' he recalls. 'After work the team socialized together as well,' he adds, 'bringing along their girlfriends, going out for drinks, to listen to jazz, celebrating birthdays together ... The company had a hierarchy but it was also open house. There was constant discussion, taking and giving, we were all filled with the same goal.’
"'Good design is as little design as possible' is one of Dieter Rams's most famous and favourite phrases. He means this in the sense that a well-designed product should be so good that it is barely noticeable. By omitting the unnecessary, says Rams, the essential factors come to the fore: the products become 'quiet, pleasing, comprehensible and long-lasting'. However to arrive at products with this quality the designer has to travel a very long and difficult path filled with questions, trials, discussion and experimentation. The product may be simple but the path taken to create it is highly complex for the 'true' product designer."
'Self control is very important. Although my own taste is involved it always has to be under control. Not suppressed though! Controlled!’
November 10, 2013
A very well written book that explores the logic and ethos behind close-to-perfect Braun products.
December 16, 2020
A great book on Dieter Rams' thinking process & his philosophy. Rams is undoubtedly one of the world's most prominent product Designer of the 21st century. He's known for incorporating functional design & innovation for many everyday household products, from kettles to record players to clock and even doorknobs.
One of the things I love about the book is how well-researched, organized, and in-depth the writing is. It's almost as if I'm drawn in to his entire body of work, which is what I expected from the start. The author even goes as far as to explain Rams' design philosophy. For example, what is the difference between 'good' and bad design but from Rams' perspective. The writing is honest: it doesn't glorify him but also criticizes some of his contradictory statements. Oh, and the photographs are gorgeous.
If you're someone who stumbles on this book by accident, you'd probably find this book not very engaging since the writing tends to be a bit analytical. But if you're a professional working designer, you should read this asap.
One of the things I love about the book is how well-researched, organized, and in-depth the writing is. It's almost as if I'm drawn in to his entire body of work, which is what I expected from the start. The author even goes as far as to explain Rams' design philosophy. For example, what is the difference between 'good' and bad design but from Rams' perspective. The writing is honest: it doesn't glorify him but also criticizes some of his contradictory statements. Oh, and the photographs are gorgeous.
If you're someone who stumbles on this book by accident, you'd probably find this book not very engaging since the writing tends to be a bit analytical. But if you're a professional working designer, you should read this asap.
October 12, 2022
I've been using the Braun Citromatic citrus juicer designed by Dieter Rams, for a few years before knowing who he is. What a brilliant yet simple household appliance. Good design stands the test of time.
My favorite parts of the book is his design philosophy and framework. His 15 questions on what makes good design has inspired my keyboard designs. Attractiveness of a good industrial design must come from its innovative and intelligent problem solution, or its usefulness.
A downside of this book is that it still lacks a lots of his products' pictures. Although his writings may not be that interesting, his designs indeed could speak for itself.
My favorite parts of the book is his design philosophy and framework. His 15 questions on what makes good design has inspired my keyboard designs. Attractiveness of a good industrial design must come from its innovative and intelligent problem solution, or its usefulness.
A downside of this book is that it still lacks a lots of his products' pictures. Although his writings may not be that interesting, his designs indeed could speak for itself.
June 11, 2019
An enlightening read about one of the fathers of modern day design. His influences and design philosophies still resonates among modern day designs; what more with his 10 principles which basically summarises the essence of what design should be.
February 11, 2018
Amazing look into Rams industrial design development and the history of Braun from the lead up by Bauhaus to his final work.
July 31, 2019
I really only came for the gorgeous photography of all the beautifully-crafted Braun products but the historical context and collection of an enormous volume of work are great addition.
Read
January 21, 2022This book is a concise, thoughtful chronologic overview of Dieter Ram's career, many excellent images, sources and powerful anecdotes spread throughout.
February 21, 2022
To be Dieter Rams, one can only imagine and dream.
I look to the great designer for inspiration.
I look to the great designer for inspiration.
Read
September 22, 2022Solid.
December 28, 2023
An interesting read, including a light history and biography of Braun and Dieter Rams, an insight into the formers products (and Vitsoe), and the principles that Rams developed.
December 25, 2024
Excellent reference and the last chapter on Rams is very good.
May 10, 2025
I really learned a lot of it
April 14, 2021
The writing is pretty technical (hard not to be when describing shavers and the like) so be warned. If you are into industrial design, it gives a pretty in-depth look into one of the most influential designers of modern times. Personally, I'd buy it even just to be inspired by the photos.
October 27, 2011
First impressions: One of the worst dust covers I've see. Malodourous plastic which, nicely detailed & printed, is entirely unsuitable for a dustcover, because apart from smelling like a cheap action figure left in the sun it immortalises every little dent along its edges, fits too loosely to offer any convincing degree of protection.
I was very unimpressed with the thin grey card sleeve on Kemp's "Less and More", but this is worse. I hope if Phaidon do another run of these they'll just drop the dust cover entirely. It is less of a product with it.
I was very unimpressed with the thin grey card sleeve on Kemp's "Less and More", but this is worse. I hope if Phaidon do another run of these they'll just drop the dust cover entirely. It is less of a product with it.
August 15, 2015
Most of the information in this book can be easily found elsewhere online in greater detail and depth. The most valuable parts of the book are those that give a historical and cultural context of the principles that shaped Dieter Rams's' thinking and work.
August 29, 2016
“Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design”
― Dieter Rams
Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design #LessButBetter #WenigerAberBesser https://www.vitsoe.com/eu/about/good-...
― Dieter Rams
Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design #LessButBetter #WenigerAberBesser https://www.vitsoe.com/eu/about/good-...
Want to read
May 5, 2012It's good to turn your head into the principle of design
August 18, 2012
It was a lot more about Dieter Rams than design in general. Still a worthwhile read, but not what I expected.
January 2, 2015
Excellent book on Dieter Rams' products and philosophy. It is an inspiration to both read and to experience the beautiful photography.
September 12, 2016
Covering all objects and all aspects of Rams' career.
January 3, 2017
I read parts of it while researching Dieter Rams for a blog. Loved the presentation, writing and inspiring work compiled into this book.
February 3, 2016
Look at Dieter Rams design and you might see Jony Ive's inspiration. Nice read.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews