Dieter Rams is a German product designer most known for his work with Braun, an electronics and home products company. He believes that good design is simple and informative, and that "less is better."
The task was to design a set of four artifacts that educate the audience about a designer of choice and embody their design style and principles. The artifacts should be distinct, yet visually cohesive.
I designed a booklet, animated video, mobile+desktop website, and poster about Dieter Rams that celebrate the breadth of his work over 50 years through a clear and communicative system.
[1] BOOKLET
A 16-page self-written booklet that tells the story of Dieter Rams's
personal and professional life within the context of Germany's
industrial design boom of the 1950s.
(Made with Adobe Id + Ai)
Read about my full process here ↗
[2] VIDEO
A motion tribute to Dieter Rams and his works. I collected and curated images, artifacts, and footage from Gary Hustwit's "Rams" documentary and online archives.
(Made with Adobe Ae)
Read about my full process here ↗
[3] WEB + MOBILE EXPERIENCE
Simple interactive web+mobile experiences introducing Rams's products with a focus on orderly exploration.
(Made with HTML/CSS and Figma)
[4] POSTER
Rams's restraint in color use stemmed from his belief in purposeful color choices. The bright orange serves both as a call for attention and a nod to his usage of reds and oranges in his products.
(Made with Adobe Id+Ai)
Read about my full process here ↗
Reflections
The project was equal parts exciting and intimidating. Dieter Rams is such a prolific designer that I felt a lot of pressure to do his work justice. Translating design principles that guided product design into a graphic visual system was challenging, pushing me to practice restraint and make more intentional choices. Even though I wanted to design more, I became comfortable with designing less, and letting his work speak for itself.
