Dieter Rams's Work — Archive for Thoughts

We often think how beautiful was the task to give shape to some of the first mass produced products. Such a complex and noble job. How does someone addresses the needs and desires of such wide audience, not just in aesthetic and functional terms but also in making high-quality, sustainable solutions accessible and appealing to the masses?
Incredible to think how Dieter Rams work and philosophy are still so contemporary, so up-to-date. They call for simplicity, functionality, and sustainability.
As it tends to happen to Rams, we're often misunderstood as minimalists and we often get asked, "when someone reduces a product to its core, how do we address emotion?" In a world saturated with products and seductive gimmicks, please let's remember that the opposite of function isn't emotion. It's malfunction. A functionalist approach essentially aims to fulfill the user's practical and emotional expectations.

Short article written originally for Welt am Sonntag, ICON, April 2024