Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible

The definitive monograph on Dieter Rams, one of the most influential product designers of the twentieth century 

As head of design at Braun from 1961 to 1995, Dieter Rams created some of the twentieth century’s most iconic objects. Rams’s life and work are indelibly linked to his thoughts about how people live, and how they can live better.

Products he designed in the 1960s are still produced and sold today, and his ideas on good design continue to inspire designers and consumers. Now available again with a stunning new cover, this comprehensive monograph, with a foreword by Jonathan (Jony) Ive, former chief design officer of Apple, explores not only Rams’s life and work, but also his design philosophy.

The book includes detailed text covering Rams’s life, the intellectual context in which he worked, his designs for Braun and Vitsœ, and the ideas and lectures he developed as an advocate for good design. Sketches and photographs of finished products and prototypes provide insight into Rams’s design process, diverse archival material gives a complete picture of his life and work, and specially commissioned photographs of Dieter Rams’s house and the Braun archive provide an exclusive glimpse of the world’s most complete collection of Rams’s designs.

Known for the hundreds of iconic products he designed for Braun and Vitsœ, this comprehensive and exhaustive monograph also features Rams's only architectural work and the ideas about living sustainably embodied in his ‘ten principles’.

About the Author

Sophie Lovell is a writer, editor, creative consultant and a leading voice in design and architecture publishing. Born in London, she has lived in Berlin since 1994. Sophie has worked on and with numerous publications in the fields of art, architecture, and design, including uncube, form and Wallpaper* magazines. She has written and edited a number of books on design and architecture, including David Thulstrup: A Sense of Place, and is also co-editor of The Common Table, a digital platform for food thinking and systemic change that she founded together with her daughter Orlando Lovell as studio_lovell.

Sir Jonathan (Jony) Ive KBE RDI is a British-American industrial designer. Formerly Chief Design Officer at Apple, he now runs his own design firm, LoveFrom, with British designer Marc Newson.