Classical design

Picture: Old Braun radios and HiFi equipment by the legendary German designer Dieter Rams (seen at www.MyPlaceDesign.ch) .

You know Dieter Rams! Or at least his design. Dieter Rams worked for 40 years for the German electronics manufacturer Braun where he was the head of the design department. At Braun he and his team produced some of the modern day design icons and heavily influenced designers of the likes of Jonathan Ive (who designed the Ipod at Apple). Rams’ design mantra is ‘less is better’ and at a sprightly 75 years of age he still fights ‘visual pollution’ and the ‘superficial throw-away culture’. No wonder that Rams is very fond of the Japanese wabi-sabi concept of simplicity. In the October Wallpaper edition he came up with his ten commandments for good design:

1. Good design is innovative
2. Good design makes a product useful
3. Good design is aesthetic
4. Good design helps a product to be understood
5. Good design is unobtrusive
6. Good design is honest
7. Good design is durable
8. Good design is consistent to the last detail
9. Good design is concerned with the environment
10. Good design is a s little design as possible

PS: Dieter Rams is also very fond of Bonsai trees as they imply a view of the big world in a small world.