Meeting Dieter Rams
I had the rare pleasure Friday of meeting and interviewing German industrial design legend Dieter Rams. Rams is in town for the opening of the exhibit Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. We spoke in the morning for some time about his work at Braun, his ten principles of good design, and his sense of the contemporary design scene. He was cheerful one moment, forceful the next, but perpetually engaged and insightful. More to come on Deiter from Dwell, but enjoy these photos taken of him by our Art Director Alejandro Chavetta.
Given Rams' outsized presence in the design world, I was curious to see if I could glean anything of the man's personal taste through what he was wearing. The chinos and black double-breasted blazer suggested a well-turned out, if serious, comportment. As did his sober glasses and black loafers. Two bits of character did shine through, though.
He was wearing a small pin in his buttonhole: a kind of lifetime achievement award from the German government. And he was carrying a terribly handsome cane. He told me that he got the wenge cane many years ago from its maker Nanna Ditzel, the great Danish furniture designer. He said that he never thought he'd have to use it, but a recent knee operation made it necessary. He regarded the thing for a moment, taking clear pleasure in the clarity of its design. Then he considered the rubber stopper at the end. "I don't like this part," he said, "but the original had nothing at the end. Just wood." Function seems to have won out over pure form.
Dieter Rams at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
He finished the anecdote by telling me that he had the cane at an interview with British television and that they showed the cane. He says it's going back into production based on interest from the interview. You can buy a Ditzel walking stick of your own right here.
Stay tuned for more Rams here at dwell.com.
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Interesting observations on a design icon's style by virtue of his attire.
I am very familiar with BRAUN products having owned and still own many of them. Dieter Rams is also part of my vocabulary, but I have never heard of any other designer names that must have worked at Braun, or did Dieter Rams design all products by himself? Can you fill me in on this?
Hi Peter, Rams was one of a team of designers at Braun, though for most of his time there he oversaw all the industrial design. Other Braun designers include Deitrich Lubs and Gerd Alfred Muller, both of whom made big impacts with their shavers and clocks/watches.
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