Dieter Rams Design: Philadelphia Museum Exhibit

One of the best exhibits I’ve seen in a long time explores the design philosophy of Dieter Rams, who created elegantly simple Modernist products for the German company Braun in the late 1950s through the early 1980s. Some of the 20th Century’s most beautiful electronics and household appliances were shaped by Rams’ belief in functionality and timelessness, which was a marked contrast with the more common “planned obsolescence” design strategy that applied fashionable trends to manufactured products that are then considered dated and out of style in a few years’ time.
Rams also designed modular shelving systems, still in production by Vitsoe, and table and chair designs that look as modern now as the day they were designed several decades ago.
”Dieter Rams: Principled Design” was on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
A fascinating documentary about his life and work was recently completed by Gary Hustwit.