Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams – First the war years, then teaching years

Dieter Rams was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, on 20 May 1932. After the Second World War, he graduated in architecture from the Werkkunstschule in Wiesbaden and also trained as a carpenter. Following this, Rams worked on various occasions from 1953 to 1955 as an architect, including for Otto Apel, and in 1955, he finally moved to the company where his ideas were to have a major influence for the rest of his life and make it internationally famous: He became an architect and interior designer at the electrical appliance manufacturer Braun in Kronberg. There, the managing directors Artur and Erwin Braun had decided that the appearance of their own products needed a new concept, and for this purpose set up a new department for form design. Here Dieter Rams met Hans Gugelot, and together they developed the design for the legendary radio record player combo Braun SK4, also known as Phonosuper SK4, in 1956.

‘Snow White’s coffin’ changed everything

Not everything was new, but most: With its completely transparent Plexiglas lid and the slight futuristic-looking painted sheet metal housing, the new model was clearly different from the cumbersome music chests common previously. The characteristic glass cover was the result of a suggestion by Dieter Rams; Hans Gugelot, meanwhile, considered acrylic glass to be a fad and dismissively referred to it as ‘Snow White’s coffin’. He would be proved wrong: The uncluttered, modern design struck a chord with the post-war era which was steeped with people’s deep longing for orderly conditions, and it became style-defining for an entire era – and beyond. As a result, Dieter Rams took over as head of product design as Braun in 1961 and began to implement his visionary ideas on a grand scale. Rams rallied together such illustrious names as Gerd Alfred Müller, Dietrich Lubs, Florian Seiffert and Reinhold Weiss, and saw himself as a successor to the famous Bauhaus, designing scores of groundbreaking designs for radio receivers, loudspeakers, lighters, calculators and more; quite a few of those designs are considered classics today. Rams later designed modular furniture systems for the Otto Zapf company – with a straightforward aesthetic, almost clinical cleanliness and unbeatable high functionality.  

Even Apple learnt from Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams was also in demand as a teacher: From 1981 to 1997, he held a professorship for industrial design at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg, and his ten theses for successful and good product design are quoted and respected with unbroken relevance. Not all of his students attended his lectures, however: The current technical pioneer Apple, of all companies, shows a sometimes striking similarity Rams’ designs in its products. Apple’s chief designer Jonathan Ive blatantly calls the German a role model and also sought personal contact, whilst Apple icon Steve Jobs appreciated Dieter Rams’ work. The latter is not fazed by the obvious kinship, but regards it as a compliment. The master himself has long since retired and since 2003 has only acted as advisor to the design magazine form.