Page 36 - VE Magazine - Issue 26

36 / February-March 2016 / ve
www.vintagexplorer.co.uk
AS A TEENAGER, Dieter Rams loved to watch his carpenter grandfather at work – something Rams himself has credited as extremely influential on his own development as a designer. At six- teen Rams even left a course in Interior Design after two semesters for a three- year carpentry apprenticeship before returning to college.
He graduated with distinctions and in 1953, aged 21, he joined a Frankfurt architects’ office. Then, after two years, he left for a position as architect and interior designer at engineering company Braun – and the rest is history...
THE BRAUN STORY
Founded in 1921 by engineer Max Braun, the company had a good reputation for engineering and developing new products, including electric shavers and kitchen gadgets.
When Max died in 1951, his sons repositioned the company to benefit from the post-war con- sumer electronics boom. They realised their prod-
Braun L 01, a handy additional stand mounted speaker for use with light audio devices. Right: Braun T 1000 CD from 1968 - a slighly revised design of the 1964 World receiver with leather strap handle and radiused tuner knobs. All designed by Dieter Rams and produced by Braun
ucts needed much more sophisticated styling and, in 1954, asked the tutors
of the recently founded Ulm School
of Design to advise them.
When Rams arrived at Braun
in 1955, he first applied his archi- tectural skills to the design of exhibition sets and offices. But
he became increasingly inter-
ested in products and, after a
year, started work with Ulm tutor Hans Gugelot and his team and other Braun colleagues to develop a product from beginning to end: the SK4 radio and record player.
In the early days, a wireless, gramophone or television was expected to disguise itself as a traditional piece of wooden furniture. But the new generation of post-war consumers, the team decided, should be encouraged to celebrate the latest technology. Abandoning the traditional wooden cabinet, they devised an industrial metal case with two pale wooden sides, and the operat-
Dieter Rams – the man who shaped the modern world
STARMAN
DIETER RAMS’ INNOVATIVE, PEOPLE-CENTRED APPROACH TO PRODUCT DESIGN AT BRAUN MAKES HIM ONE OF
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS OF
THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY
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