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Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams [Hardcover]

Klaus Klemp , Keiko Ueki-Polet
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 15, 2011
"In the more than 40 years that he spent working at Braun, Dieter Rams established himself as one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century. His elegantly clear visual language not only defined product design for decades, but also our fundamental understanding of what design is and what it can and

should do. Dieter Rams created ten rules of design more than twenty years ago. Sometimes referred to as the ten commandments, they are just as relevant today: Good design is innovative. Good design makes a product useful. Good design is aesthetic. Good design helps a product to be understood. Good design is unobtrusive. Good design is honest. Good design is durable. Good design is consistent to the last detail. Good design is environmentally friendly. Good design is as little design as possible. Less and More elucidates the design philosophy of Dieter Rams. The book contains images of hundreds of Rams's products as well as his sketches and models from Braun stereo systems and electric shavers to the chairs and shelving systems that he created for Vitsoe and his own company sdr+. In addition to the rich visual presentation of his designs, the book contains new texts by international design experts that explain how the work was created,

describe its timeless quality, and put it into current context. In this way, the work of Dieter Rams is given a contemporary reevaluation that is especially useful in light of the rediscovery of functionalism and rationalism in today s design. Less and More shows us the possibilities that design opens for both the manufacturer and the consumer as a means of making our lives better through attractive, functional solutions that also save resources. "


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Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams + Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 808 pages
  • Publisher: Gestalten; Bilingual edition (October 15, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 3899553977
  • ISBN-13: 978-3899553970
  • Product Dimensions: 2 x 7.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
(10)
4.8 out of 5 stars
3 star
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1 star
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Beautifully written and illustrated. T. Cressman  |  3 reviewers made a similar statement
Beautifully printed soft-cover book with thin board slip case. Don S.  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Less is more, more or less April 30, 2011
Format:Paperback
I thought this was fascinating and comprehensive overview of Braun and Dieter Rams contribution to the success of the company though I think it has a quite a serious editorial flaw.

The publishers have been quite clever in accommodating the huge amount of text and graphic material in a book of just over eight hundred pages. The text, German on left-hand pages and English on the right, has been printed on very thin paper (known as bible stock in the trade) which has a certain amount of show-through. The excellent product shots (314 pages) have been printed on a good matt art with another paper used for the remaining photo essays. Incidentally the color work in the book is printed with an impressive 300 screen, most art books run to 175 to 250.

Eleven of the nineteen chapters are text (on the thin paper) and explore in as much detail as you could want about German and middle European design in the first decades of the last century and how it influenced Rams, particularly the Bauhaus and Ulm design laboratories. A fascinating sixty-five page chapter: 'Dieter Rams, Braun, Vitsoe and the shrinking world' explores the reasons for the companies success and Rams contribution with brilliant product design. Another chapter: 'Graphic design: Braun and Vitsoe' delves, in part, into the typeface used on the products, always in lower-case and originally Akzidenz-Grotesk but after the sixties switching to Helvetica.

Between the essays and possibly the main strength of the book are the photo product pages, basically electrical products for the home. Each item gets a spread of lovely close-up photos butted together and then a spread with a head on shot on the left and each right-hand page having relevant profile photos. Here, unfortunately, I think the book falls down (and why I've given it four stars) because these photos are just too small and made more noticeable because the rest of each page is blank. Matt black was a design element for many of the audio products and to see them basically as small silhouettes with the detail of the fascia, side and backs near invisible seems a nonsense. To have all these product shots this small is just a book designer's whimsy and doesn't do the reader any favors. There are other photos essays of Braun products (including fourteen pages of ones that didn't make it) brochures, packaging, Dieter Rams home.

'Less and more' is an impressive book (apart from the small product photos) and could well become the standard work on the company for design students and those who appreciate good product design and want to know about a man and company that created such high standards. There is another book about the company that might interest you: BRAUN--Fifty Years of Design and Innovation basically product shots with a very comprehensive listing of these in the back pages.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book! December 31, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is an awesome compilation of the works of Dieter Rams. Beautifully written and illustrated. In both English and German languages.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for fans of Dieter Rams and Braun. October 16, 2010
By Don S.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Beautifully printed soft-cover book with thin board slip case. I have several books on Rams and Braun, but this one is almost certainly the best. The main focus here is on Rams with examples of his work for Braun and other companies. Beyond beautifully photographed examples of Braun classics, the book also looks at sketches, prototypes of unrealized products, and even engineering models for some items. Highly interesting with well-written text in English and German.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
If you are passionate about design, you need to add this book to your collection! But most of it is in German...
Published 1 month ago by Clara Zavani
5.0 out of 5 stars Less Is More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams
One of the best books I now own. Every design freak like me must have this. Simplicity is elegance was the thrust of his work, and nowhere have I seen it taken to these levels. Read more
Published 2 months ago by B. Holme
5.0 out of 5 stars Good luck getting this book undamaged
I ordered this book along with Dieter Rams : As Little Design as Possible and the books were simply placed in an empty box. One book is 400 pages and the other is 800. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Hugh McMillan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
I really like this book. It's very unique and very well made. Beautiful pictures, quality paper, and i really like the cover (Its like a matte finish vinyl) and the sleeve that... Read more
Published 23 months ago by JKay
5.0 out of 5 stars A monument to a great designer, and the design of an entire nation.
This book is beautifully crafted, following the design principles of Dieter Rams in it's construction as well. Read more
Published on February 24, 2011 by Santiago Hossni
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Designed & Written
I own many books on Rams and his work but this book is by far the best. Not only is the content of this book excellent, but the quality of materials and the craft of the product is... Read more
Published on November 12, 2010 by Mark A. Peck
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best
A superbly produced publication, a pleasure to read and a pleasure to enjoy just looking!
Published on March 31, 2010 by Robert Miller-Smith
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