Dieter Rams is a product design and someone who I never heard of until I saw this article in the on-line magazine Planet. I was at SFMOMA to see the Stein Exhibit before it closed and noticed that the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art had the exhibit of Dieter Ram mentioned in the Planet Magazine article. It is there until February 12, 2012.

Left Dieter Ram's 1959 Radio - Phono - Right Apple Ipod
Hard to believe that over 40 years separate the design of these two products. They look contemporary. The radio phonograph combination on the left was design by Dieter Ram in 1959. The ipod on the right was introduced by Apple in 2001.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups.
A lot of times, people don’t know what they want
until you show it to them.”
(Steve Jobs)
A lot of times, people don’t know what they want
until you show it to them.”
(Steve Jobs)
This quote from Steve Jobs is a direct descendant of Dieter Ram's thinking. Jonathan Ive is Apple's chief guru for design and is responsible for the look and feel of all the Apple products for over 10 years.
Jonathan Ive credits his primary influence as being Dieter Rams who directed the design group at Braun Germany for many years. Think of the many iconic Braun products produced starting from the 1959 and you can see the direct relationship to current Apple Design. Dieter Rams has had a profound influence on the design landscape of the world. I'll be commenting on Dieter Ram's Principles of Good Design in future posts. LM
Jonathan Ive credits his primary influence as being Dieter Rams who directed the design group at Braun Germany for many years. Think of the many iconic Braun products produced starting from the 1959 and you can see the direct relationship to current Apple Design. Dieter Rams has had a profound influence on the design landscape of the world. I'll be commenting on Dieter Ram's Principles of Good Design in future posts. LM