Dieter Rams

Professor Dieter Rams at the 50th Anniversary of Braun Innovation exhibition, Boston 2005

Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932 in Wiesbaden) is a German industrial designer closely associated with the Braun company.

Rams learned carpentry as an apprentice. He also studied architecture at the Werkkunstschule Wiesbadencode: de is deprecated .

After working at an architecture firm from 1953 and 1955 he joined Braun. He was successful at Braun and became chief of design from 1961.

Rams once explained his design approach in the phrase "Weniger, aber bessercode: de is deprecated " meaning "Less, but better." Many of his designs such as coffee makers, radios, audio/visual equipment, and office products are on display in museums over the world. Dieter Rams retired from Braun in 1998.

Rams designed a cover for Wallpaper magazine.

Dieter Rams’ rules for good design

Rams came up with a set of rules for making a good design:

1. Good design is innovative
2. Good design makes a product useful
3. Good design is aesthetic
4. Good design helps us to understand a product
5. Good design is unobtrusive
6. Good design is honest
7. Good design is long lasting
8. Good design is includes every detail
9. Good design is concerned with the environment
10. Good design is as little design as possible

Dieter Rams Media

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  Braun Phonosuper SK 4 "Snow White's coffin" by Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot (1956)

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  Rams's furniture seen in a Vitsœ showroom in Tokyo

• Jon Ive and Dieter Rams works (cropped 2).jpg

  Apple iPod pictured next to a 1958 Braun T3 transistor radio

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  Brauns Phonosuper SK 61, detalj

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  Rams honoured with iF Design Lifetime Achievement Award, Friedrichstadt-Palast, Berlin (2024)

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  Scale model of a chair (undergraduate work c. 1952)

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  Braun SK 61 radiogram, 1956

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  Braun Transistor 1 radio, 1957

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  Braun TP1 portable transistor radio and phonograph, 1959