

My lunch with Dieter Rams - athesyn
http://www.minimallyminimal.com/blog/my-lunch-with-dieter-rams

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AceJohnny2
> I can happily say that he looks amazing for his age (80) now. He's wearing a
> Braun BN0035 [1] in black by the way.

Huh, that's a beautiful watch, though too expensive for my taste. Did Rams
design it? It reminds me to pay closer attention to Braun's objects for their
design. This watch was designed in 2012, and here I thought Braun's design
heydey was the 60s...

[1] [http://www.braun-clocks.com/watch/BN0035](http://www.braun-
clocks.com/watch/BN0035)

~~~
andy_ppp
God, that Braun website is terrible... I'd love to have a crack at making it
an amazing piece of design - there is sooooo much you could do with it!

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parshap
> Dieter Rams complained that the word “design” was ruined by the fashion
> industry and marketing. They sell products as “designer products” that
> aren’t necessarily good representations of good design. He suggested that we
> be called “Gestalt Engineers” - Gestalt is the German word for "form" or
> "shape".

Loved this line and the term "gestalt engineer".

~~~
eru
Should be Gestaltingenieur.

~~~
macco
More like "Gestaltungingeneur". But I think what Rams says is right. Here in
Germany the misuse of the term design is even bigger I would say.

~~~
eru
Oh, it would need to be "Gestaltungsingenieur". But Gestalt is a proper word
in German by now, thanks to Mr Jung and friends. See eg
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestaltpsychologie](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestaltpsychologie)

~~~
bch
Oh, German words!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcMT395UvWI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcMT395UvWI)

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AceJohnny2
> [He] cautioned that computers should not be allowed to have input into our
> thoughts.

What does he mean? He disapproves of brain-computer interfaces? Google Glass?
Our distraction-based use of them (Facebook, Reddit, HN...) ?

Or as a way of redisigning (sorry) our interaction with the world around us?
If this is what he means, I strongly disagree with him: computers are probably
the most powerful tool we've ever invented, and we're just beginning to
understand how we can integrate them well in our lives.

~~~
hipsters_unite
Yeah, I would have liked more exposition on that point as well. Earlier, when
talking about product design he says, "We wanted to change the world," so it
would have been interesting to worry the tooth a little over modern technical
innovation (computing, software, robotics, to name three), as I'd be surprised
if he was dismissing it all out of hand.

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michalu
I can clearly see the return of his ideas such as "less but better" into many
aspects of our lives, now and in following decade. People in West are
overwhelmed by abundance - cheap clothes designed to be sold in quantities
such as H&M that don't last to long or information overflow on the web and
media. This trend of less but more is already emerging outside of web and
tech.

------
IBM
Dieter Rams talking about Apple from the documentary Objectified.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahtHKCQUD2k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahtHKCQUD2k)

