Dieter Rams: Less but Better

We spoke one-on-one with industrial design pioneer Dieter Rams at a retrospective of his work now on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In his 40 years at the German company Braun, Rams saw through one of the most well-articulated complete design visions in history. From the stereos, household appliances and electronics he designed for Braun to his classic shelving system for Vitsoe, Rams’s formidable fingerprints are all over post-war material culture. We asked this icon how his ten dictums of good design stand up now, how he captained Braun’s ship for four decades, and who on the contemporary design scene is getting it right.