Who is Dieter Rams? 60 Years of Braun

Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, on May 20, 1932, Dieter Rams is one of the most prominent product designers of the 20th century. As head of design at Braun for nearly 40 years, he oversaw more than 500 products and is renowned for formulating his "Ten Principles of Good Design." His influence extends to modern digital devices through Apple's Jony Ive, and is deeply embedded in Japan's manufacturing philosophy through Naoto Fukasawa and Muji.

As a Carpenter's Grandson — The Origin of "Making Things"

The biggest influence on Rams during his childhood was his grandfather, a carpenter. He understood the properties of materials and precisely crafted only what was necessary. Adding no superfluous decoration, and being faithful to purpose — this craftsman's ethos was deeply ingrained in Rams' later design philosophy.
In 1947, at the age of 15, he enrolled in the Wiesbaden School of Art, but temporarily suspended his studies the following year to begin an apprenticeship as a carpenter. He spent his days carving wood and engaging with materials. In 1951, he re-entered the art school, majoring in architecture and interior design, and graduated in 1953.

Joining Braun and a Turning Point (1955–1956)

In 1955, at the age of 23, Rams was hired by Braun as an architect and interior designer. His initial duties involved revamping the company's interior, and product design was outside his scope of work.
A turning point came the following year, in 1956. During the development of the SK4 phonogram — a device combining a radio and record player — Rams encountered a problem where the sheet metal lid vibrated and rattled loudly. His proposal was a transparent acrylic lid. This was an unprecedented use of material for a home appliance, but this single transparent lid introduced a new aesthetic to the product: "revealing the interior." The SK4 was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York as part of its permanent collection, and is still referred to as "Snow White's Coffin" today. This project marked Rams' transition from architect to product designer.

40 Years as Head of Design — Over 500 Products (1961–1995)

In 1961, Rams became the Head of Design at Braun. In the same year, he also became the Head of Design for the furniture manufacturer Vitsœ, leading German product design along two axes.
The Braun products from this era—including the T3 pocket radio (1958), the 606 Universal Shelving System (1960), and the ET66 calculator (1987)—had a decisive impact on the design of future digital devices. He oversaw over 500 products, several of which are permanently housed in MoMA. From 1981, he also served as a professor of industrial design at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg (HFBK), nurturing the next generation of designers. He retired as Head of Design in 1995 and completely retired in 1997.

"Ten Principles of Good Design" — A Question to Chaos (1976)

In the late 1970s, Rams viewed the global design landscape as an "unintelligible confusion of forms, colors, and noise." To answer his own question, "Is my design truly good design?", he first articulated his "Ten Principles of Good Design" at a lecture in New York in 1976.
Good design is innovative, makes a product useful, is aesthetic, makes a product understandable, is unobtrusive, is honest, is long-lasting, is thorough down to the last detail, is environmentally friendly, and involves "as little design as possible." These ten principles are condensed into Rams' maxim, "Weniger, aber besser (Less, but better)." In the next installment, we will explore each of these principles individually.

Apple, Muji — Global Spread of an Ideology

In 2010, Jony Ive of Apple sent a personal letter to Rams, stating, "Your work was my source of inspiration." Ive later wrote the foreword for Rams' official monograph. The circular dial of the T3 radio can be seen in the click wheel of the iPod, and the button layout of the ET66 calculator in the iOS calculator app.
In Japan, Naoto Fukasawa reveres Rams as his mentor, and his influence is strongly reflected in Muji's product philosophy. German functional minimalism and the Japanese "beauty of empty space," while having different roots, converged at the same point. As of 2026, the 93-year-old Rams continues to lecture and write.
The hairline-finished stainless steel, the honesty of materials, and the functional beauty free of ornamentation embodied by ZACK. Beneath it all, the spirit of German product design—"less, but better"—which Rams pursued throughout his life, still flows quietly.
Next time, we will delve into the first of the "Ten Principles of Good Design": "Good design is innovative."

Photo: Vitsœ / CC BY-SA 3.0. Background removed and monochromatic processing.