German product designer Dieter Rams | | Braun and Vitsoe product designs |

Top: The Vitsœ 620 Chair Programme; Middle: Braun LE1 speaker; Bottom: Braun T 1000 world receiver

Under the spotlight

Product design

Dieter Rams

Exploring the work of the product designer who influenced Apple

The world may drool over the clean, sleek creations of Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, but Dieter Rams was espousing the virtues of good design decades before Ive was even born.

From 1955 until 1995, Rams worked for German electronics manufacturer Braun and furniture company Vitsœ. Today, Braun is better known for making electric razors, but during Rams' tenure, the firm's designs were a cut above the rest.

For years, Braun manufactured everything from coffee makers to calculators and, as head of design, Rams had a role in the majority of products that rolled off the Braun assembly line. Some, like the SK 4 audio series, have become collectors' items. Others, such as the T3 Pocket Radio (above), have been influential. (It resembles Apple's Classic iPod.)

Meanwhile for Vitsœ, Rams is best known for dreaming up the 606 Universal Shelving System and the 620 Chair Programme, both of which are still in production. >>>
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