Lineage of German Design

Good design is honest—Rams' Sixth Principle

Dieter Rams's "Ten Principles of Good Design," Principle 6: "Good design is honest (Gutes Design ist ehrlich)." His explanation is brief yet incisive. "It does not make a product more innovative, p...

Good design is unobtrusive. – Rams’ Fifth Principle

Dieter Rams' "Ten Principles for Good Design," Principle 5: "Good design is unobtrusive (Gutes Design ist unaufdringlich)." The German word "unaufdringlich" means "not pushy," a nuance deeper than ...

Good design makes a product understandable—Rams' 4th principle

Dieter Rams' "10 Principles of Good Design," Principle 4: "Good design makes a product understandable (Gutes Design macht ein Produkt verständlich)." Vitsœ's official description elaborates with a ...

Good design is aesthetic. (Rams’ Third Principle)

Dieter Rams' third principle of good design is "Good design is aesthetic (Gutes Design ist ästhetisch)." However, Rams added a crucial sentence at the end of his explanation:"Aber nur das Gut-Gemac...

Good design makes a product useful – Rams’ Second Principle

Dieter Rams' "Ten Principles of Good Design," Principle 2: "Good design makes a product useful (Gutes Design macht ein Produkt brauchbar)." This statement seems obvious at first glance. However, th...

Good design is innovative—Rams's first principle

Dieter Rams' "Ten Principles of Good Design" are surprising from the very first principle: "Good design is innovative" (Gutes Design ist innovativ). While he places the word "innovation" at the beg...

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...

From Ulm to Apple: Germany's Legacy in Silicon Valley

In 2011, design critic Sophie Lovell published a book titled "Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible" (Phaidon). The foreword was written by Apple's Chief Design Officer, Jonathan Ive.In the for...

Why the Ulm School of Design Closed: The Clash Between Politics and Design

In October 1968, the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg cast a vote. The agenda was the complete abolition of subsidies to the Ulm School of Design (HfG). The motion passed with a majority, and ...

Hans Gugelot and Braun: The Birth of System Design

In 1956, a record player was completed at a factory near Frankfurt. It had a white metal casing, a transparent plastic lid, and simple buttons arranged horizontally. "Snow White's Coffin (Schneewit...