Dieter Rams began his career with Braun in 1955, initially as architect and interior designer. Dieter Rams was responsible for product design at Braun until 1995.

His first concrete designs for furniture systems were created in 1957 - for instance, the Table Program 570 (double tabletop table) and the assembly system 571. The furniture designs of Dieter Rams did not only reveal analogies to the hi-fi devices he designed, some of them were even aligned to them to the very millimetre. The Shelving System 606 was launched in 1960 and is still being produced today. Further designs such as the Lounge Chair Program 620 and the modular Low Table Program 010 followed.

The work of Dieter Rams can be summarised best by his 10 design propositions:

 

1. Good design is innovative.

2. Good design makes a product understandable.

3. Good design is elegant.

4. Good design makes a product useful.

5. Good design is unobtrusive.

6. Good design is honest.

7. Good design is long living.

8. Good design is consequent right to the very last detail.

9. Good design is friendly to the environment.

10. Good design is as little design as possible.

 

Biography

20th May 1932 Born in Wiesbaden

Early involvement in carpentry trade by grandfather who was a master joiner

1947 Began studies of architecture and interior design at school of arts and trade Wiesbaden

1948-1951 Interruption of studies for a practical term followed by journeyman's certificate as a carpenter. Winner of the trade competition in the district

Continuation of studies at the school of arts and trade Wiesbaden

1953 Graduated with distinction

1953-1955 Collaborated in the Architects Offices Otto Apel, among others at the time in co-operation with the architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (Building of the US Consulate in the FRG)

1955 Started as architect and interior designer with Braun AG

1956 First tasks as product designer with Braun AG

1957 First furniture designs for Otto Zapf - from 1959 Vitsoe & Zapf - Wiese Vitsoe
since 1995 sdr+ GmbH & Co. KG
Aluminium version of 606 shelving system, DePadova since 1987

1961 Appointed Head of Production Design at Braun AG

1968 Appointed Director of Production Design at Braun AG

1980 Exhibition 'Design: Dieter Rams &', Berlin, Initiator: International Design Center, Berlin, Touring exhibition: Biennial of Industrial Design, Ljubljana (1981), Amos Andersen Museum, Helsinki (1981), Padiglione d’Arte Contemporeana di Milano (1981), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1982), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1982), Kunstgewerbemuseum, Köln (1983)

1981 Appointed Professor for Industrial Design at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg

1983 Exhibition 'Design since 1945', Philadelphia Museum of Art

1988 Appointed Plenipotentiary of Braun AG

1995 Changed from Director Product Design to the Executive Director Corporate Identity Affairs at Braun AG

1997 Left the services of Braun AG

Emeritus of the University of Fine Arts

2001 Exhibition 'Tingens stilla ordning', Skissernas Museum Lund, Sweden

Exhibition ‘Dieter Rams Haus’ Lisbon, Portugal, Centro de Exposicoés Centro Cultural de Belém, co-production Experimenta/Centro Cultural de Belém – Museo do Design

2002 Exhibition ‘Dieter Rams Design – The Fascination of the Simple’, Institut für Neue Technische Form, Darmstadt

Exhibition 'Dieter Rams – Less, but Better, MAK – Museum of Applied Art, Frankfurt

2003 Exhibition 'Dieter Rams Design – The Fascination of the Simple, Design Center Bremen in the Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Haus

2004 Designing Modern Life - a History of Modern Design, Design Museum London

2005 Dieter Rams Less but better - Weniger, aber besser, Zen Temple Kenninji Kyoto

2007 Design: Dieter Rams, State Museum of Ceramics, Kuskovo Estate, Moscow

 

Awards

1960 Grant of the Culture Group of Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI)

1965 Art Award (Industrial Design) 'Junge Generation, Berlin', together with Reinhold Weiss, Richard Fischer and Robert Oberheim of the Braun Design Department

1968 Hon. RDI (Honorary Royal Designer for Industry of the Royal Society of Arts, London) for distinguished furniture design 'light engineering products'

1978 Awarded the SIAD Medal of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers, London

1985 Appointed ‘Académico de Honor Extranjero’ by the ‘Académia Mexicana de Diseno’

1986 Appointed honorary member of the International Faculty, Ontario College of Art, Toronto

1989 Haus Industrieforum Essen elects the Braun Design-Team as 'Team of the Year‘

1990 First winner of the prize ‘Industrie Forum Design Hanover’ for special merits in design

1991 Awarded the title Doctor Honoris Causa by the Royal College of Arts, London

1996 Awarded the World Design Medal by the Industrial Designer Society of America

1997 Conferred the Hess Order of Merit

2003 Commanders Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

2004 Design Award ONDI for distinguished work in the field of industrial design, contributions to world culture, Havana, Cuba

2007 Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany 2007 for achievements in the area of design

2007 Lucky Strike Designer Award by the Raymond Loewy Fondation for his life achievements

 

Memberships

Member of VDID (Association of German Industrial Designers) Honorary Member since 1997

Member of "Deutscher Werkbund"

Member of the Supervisory Board of the German Design Council, since 1976,Chairman of the German Design Council 1988 - 1998, Honorary Member since 2002

ICSID Board Member (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design) from 1991 - 1995, since 1995 Regional Advisor

Member of the Academy of Arts Berlin (since 1999)