Last day of class

In class we uploaded all of our pages onto the computer and got them from each other. By the end of class I had a pdf file of my book ready to go to jayhawk ink and print.

Bio and cover page

title page and table of contents

Refined spread

4 page spread

I made 3 versions of my four page spread and designed in based on simplicity. I decided on class on one and am tweaking it to make it better. I kept the text in the red box and placed a few pictures of his work around. I made the text black gray and light gray based on how important it was on the page.

Text Component for book

Dieter Rams is an industrial designer that has made large contributions to the world of design. He has being influential by his ten principles of good design to his recent book titled, Less and more: the design ethos of Dieter Rams. Dieter Rams was born May 20^th, 1932 in Germany and studied architecture at the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden. Once Rams got on his feet he started working for Braun and became the chief of design there for over thirty years designing products of all kinds. He retired in 1998 but still remains active in the world of design.

The ten principles of good design are based around the “Weniger, aber besser” which means “Less, but better.” The principles explain to designers what to do in order to make a successful design. He makes points regarding innovation, and how since technology is always moving forward there is always room for innovative design. He explains a balance between making something look aesthetically appealing, and still making it a useful product. A design should be simple enough that it reads well with the user and is easily understood. If a design is good enough it will still be around many years to come. He even touches bases on the environment and how design should not end up creating waste. Mostly he explains design as only the essentials and that there should be as little of it as possible.

In Rams retirement, with the help of Gestalten Books, he has worked on and came out with a book, Less and More.  This thick book outlines Ram’s design philosophy with a numerous amount of fascinating designs and sketches by Dieter Rams, most of which from his days with Braun. Rams did a lot of work with audio equipment making record players, radios and other recording devices. He designed household items like a pencil sharpener, coffee makers, calculators, and a computer mouse. Furthermore, he designed furniture like chairs and a beautiful universal shelving unit. Regardless of what Rams was designing its clear he kept his principles and believes in mind every step of the way.

 The simple and understanding designs he created will stay around long after he is gone because they live up to his principles. New designers, and even designers who have been around for a while, can learn for Dieter Rams and can continue to create good design through his teachings. A confused designer having trouble finishing a design can start with Rams belief in less but better and make their way towards ensuring they create a good design.

Book project

The industrial designer i chose for my project is Dieter Rams, I was drawn to him because his work is simple and very effective. He wrote ten principles of good design that i agree with and find very helpful. The class found pictures of our designers works and presented them to the class. One of my favorite pieces i found was this universal shelving unit that can be fully customized and expanded