German industrial designer, Dieter Rams has established himself as one of the most influential designers of the 20th century.  His name has been strongly associated with the consumer products company Braun for which he had been working for over 40 years, and the Functionalist school of industrial design.  Gestalten Books compiled Less and More a book which features images of hundreds of Rams’s products, his sketches and models while it elucidates his design philosophy.  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.

Rams once explained his design approach in the phrase "Weniger, aber besser" which translates to "Less, but better.”  Furthermore, Rams created ten rules of design more than twenty years ago, which are sometimes referred to as “the ten commandments.”  Today, they are just as relevant:

Less and More by Gestalten reveals 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 Vitsœ in 1960 and his own company sdr+.  Apart from 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.  Many of the designs of Dieter Rams have found a permanent home at many museums all over the world, including MoMA in New York.

The book is edited by Professor Klaus Klemp and Keiko Ueki-Polet. One of the world’s leading experts in the field of product design, Klemp has been acquainted with Dieter Rams for many years and is an authority on his work.  Ueki-Polet is one of Japan’s most renowned design curators.  She is well acquainted with design developments in both Asia and the Western world and works at the Suntory Museum in Osaka.

BOOK DETAILS
 
Title: Less and More
Subtitle: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams
Editors: Klaus Klemp, Keiko Ueki-Polet
Language: bilingual German/English
Price: € 49,90 / $ 78,00 / £ 45,00
Format: 19 × 23 cm
Features: 808 pages, full color, PVC cover, in slipcase
ISBN: 978-3-89955-277-5

European Release:  December 15, 2009
International Release:  January 15, 2010