As Little Design As Possible: The Work 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.

Customer Reviews:

As Little Design As Possible

By Jan Staller - August 15, 2011

Several books about Braun Design and Dieter Rams have appeared in recent years. To my knowledge, this Phaidon volume is the most comprehensive and detailed. The books I have purchased in the past were mostly comprised of black and white photographs accompanied by texts in German and English. This book, written entirely in English extensively chronicles Dieter Rams
history and his involvement with Braun AG. With a forward written by Jonathan Ive, probably the designer most indebted to the mid century design of Braun AG, this book shows how
the industrial designs of Dieter Rams and Braun AG have come to influence industrial designers in the time of the 2000s. The first Jo Klatt book, Braun+Design Collection has extensively pictured virtually every Braun product made, but the text is German. Less but Better, also by Klatt is written in German and English, and it recounts the rich history of Dieter Rams and Braun. However, after acquiring and reading it, I wished to know more... read more

Visually Comprehensive Review of an Influential Designer, But Needs More Context

By Rob Wilcox - July 17, 2011

Dieter Rams has been a strong influence on modern industrial design. He worked many years for Braun. Jonathan Ive at Apple, and many others have acknowledged Ram's influence. Rams wrote a book in German and coauthored others.

This is a valuable visual catalog of all his work in context. It covers the individual works and their chronology, too brief writings by Rams himself, and short notes by designers who have been influenced by Rams. There is a useful exploration of Rams in the context of German philosophy and culture by Klaus Kemp.

Early versions of Rams' 10 principles are presented, along with thoughts on designing detail. Those 10 principles should be prominently on the tackboard or in a mobile phone app of every designer, including customer experience designers. I must disagree with the publisher's review, the book could have been better with more of Rams' original design drawings, conference presentations or writings.

The book is great for... read more

Everyone should own this book! Especially Designers

By Chris Becker - January 23, 2013

If you aspire to fill your world with beautiful things then get this book. The only problem is that Dieter Rams stuff is very expensive and if you want to possess such objects of immaculate design you will have to pay for it. How ever the book and Dieter Rams process are ones that should be aspired to by more designeres in our world.