Thoughts from the documentary "Rams" by Gary Hustwit
Dieter Rams
I recently watched the “Rams” by the film maker Gary Hustwit and absolutely loved it. Before I go on to talk about the content of the film and Dieter Rams himself, I would like to touch briefly on the film. This film portrays a three-dimensional realism of Dieter Rams rather than simply talking about his work. A real insight into his personality and his life is shown though this film, one can see that Dieter Rams clearly feels comfortable to open up to the film maker and this pays of making it a joy to watch. It is not just educational within design from what he can teach us but, much like real life, it is intertwined with insights into the human aspects that are so often forgotten when someone becomes famous (and a lot of these insights are very funny). It is also complemented with wonderful cinematography that complements and showcases the body of work with detail and humanity. I came away from watching this film with a greater appreciation of Deter Rams as a designer and as a person.
Frame from Rams documentary by Gary Hustwit
Dieter Rams designs are widely celebrated as classics throughout the “design world”. All of his designs have a wonderful visual simplicity, everything looks like it is where it should be within the design. They are designed with an amazing ability to create visual balance and harmony within every element. This is something within his designs that I find very appealing and almost calming to look at. A sense of order and inevitable rightness.
TP 1 radio/phono combination, 1959, by Dieter Rams for Braun -Viscoe
Transistor Radio T3 (1958) by Dieter Rams for Braun - Phaidon
Transistor Radio T3 (1958) by Dieter Rams for Braun - Phaidon
Within the film he speaks of how “aesthetics is an integral aspect of the usability of a product because objects that you use daily significantly shape your personal surroundings and your sense of well-being.” His products are not designed to be statement pieces but instead something that will blend into people’s daily lives, something that you interact with on a daily basis. He believes in the effect that these products that surround us affect our physical and mental interaction with the world. It should therefore be well designed, and I must say I agree. I was left wondering what it must be like to have designed things to beautifully blend into the background that are then held high on pedestals. His iconic visually balanced designs have been put onto posters, art prints, bags, t-shirts and mugs. I thought this may be part of the reason he seems to have staid as a modest and passionate man, not affected by the god like treatment that he encounters. He has staid passionate to his beliefs about design which was not to be a design great for the sake of status but for the pure well-designed functionality of a product.
Dieter Rams inspired posters by Some Pietro
I his passion for good design very inspiring the famous “10 principles of good design” being an embodiment of this. I found the thought process to get to these as much as an inspiration as the actual principles. It was said that in the 70s he was “one of the first to look at what we are doing to the plant” and “realise that he was contributing to this”. I think he took a step back and looked at what makes a product worthwhile and came to the conclusion of the 10 principles of good design. I think that they are taken very literally to be the final written black and white of what good design is, but I see it more of what good design is to him. What he thinks makes using the natural recourses of the planet worthwhile. I don’t think this means that these principles are right for every designer or every society, they may fluctuate as society’s pressure points fluctuate and the dance of life continues. However, I think this is a design exercise all designers should be doing we all need to take a step back and think about what makes what we do worth the materials that it uses up and inevitably the time that it takes up of our lives. If we do this we can design with a passion and focus, an integral part of how Dieter Rams created the exceptional body of work.
Frame from Rams documentary by Gary Hustwit