Less, But Better

Products need only last as long as a glimpse at Instagram, so what does good design mean now? For Dieter Rams, it has always been about purity, ever since he started his industrial design career during the mid-1950s. Rams, who recently turned 86, served as the Chief Design Officer of Braun from 1961 until 1995; his famed “Ten Principals of Good Design,” and its influence on everyday objects, especially technology and electronics, remains unparalleled. An upcoming auction at Wright in Chicago (July 12th) celebrates the German’s prolific career and continued legacy, sending more than 130 of seminal products by Rams’ and his Braun colleagues across the block.

Nearly everything in this collection, sourced from Los Angeles connoisseur-and-dealer JF Chen, is fascinating. Here, Watch Journal narrows the scoping, picking out a few favorite lots to illustrate Rams’s “Ten Principals.”

Dieter Rams: The JF Chen Collection, Chicago, July 12, 2018; wright20.com

Good design is innovative

Lot 105 – Chronotimer Rennsport Reunion VI Limited Edition by Dietrich Lubs, 1987. Estimate $100-$150

Good design makes a product useful

Lot 142 – Phase 2 alarm clock by Dietrich Lubs, 1972. Estimate $75-$100
Lot 110 – AB 314 Voice Memo alarm clock by Dietrich Lubs, 1995. Estimate $75-$100

Good design is aesthetic

Lot 168 – DW 30 digital wristwatch by Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs, 1978. Estimate $200-$300

Good design makes a product understandable

Lot 156 – ET 22 Control calculator by Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs, 1976. Estimate $100-$150

Good design is unobtrusive

Lot 178 – AW 10 wristwatch by Dietrich Lubs, 1989, Estimate $300-$500

Good design is honest

Lot 185 – SK 5 Phonosuper radiogram by Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot, 1958. Estimate $1,000-$1,500

Good design is long-lasting

Lot 202 – AW 10 wristwatch by Dietrich Lubs, 1989. Estimate $300-$500

Good design is thorough down to the last detail

Lot 118 – Nizo 4056 Super 8 camera by Dieter Rams, Robert Oberheim, and Han Gulgelot, 1978. Estimate $150-$200

Good design is environmentally friendly

Lot 114 – ABW 21 clock and barometer by Dietrich Lubs, 1980. Estimate $300-$500

Good design is as little design as possible

Lot 138 – PC 3 SV turntable by Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Dieter Rams, and Gerd Alfred Müller, 1956. Estimate $200-300