Good Design is as little design as possible.

January 16, 2008 2:52 AM

Huh.Not the only time it's been noted, but still,Dieter Rams did make it look good first. An interesting guy who's basic design precepts Jonathan Ive has been very successful at emulating. For which I am only happy.

These are not by Rams.

posted by From Bklyn (10 comments total)

Good clean design is always captivating. Great post.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:21 AM on January 16, 2008

MACTARDS R THEEVEs!!11!! RON PAUL 08!!1!!

Oh. Sorry. Wrong board.
posted by sourwookie at 4:57 AM on January 16, 2008

I could see these kind of 2001-ish, knobby controls making it into some kind of Apple TV appliance, or a Garage Band peripheral.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:35 AM on January 16, 2008

Apple's duplication of Rams's calculator design is interesting, if only because of the subtle differences. If they were going to copy the color scheme and button shapes, why change the position of the + and - keys?
posted by Pastabagel at 7:33 AM on January 16, 2008

why change the position of the + and - keys?

Different type of calculator?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:50 AM on January 16, 2008

Cool! I'd never heard of Rams before, so thanks! BTW can anyone recommend a good picture book of Rams' designs?
posted by carter at 8:08 AM on January 16, 2008

Good subject, terribly worded FPP.
posted by desjardins at 9:09 AM on January 16, 2008

One day I will have a wall of 606 shelving. One day.
posted by I Foody at 9:36 AM on January 16, 2008

Yeah, it is terribly worded. I should have mentioned 'iPhone, plagiarized?!?!' or 'Apple Inside!' or something else catchy and informative.

It's interesting how, on the one hand the Gizmodo post and others in a similar vein, all ponder if Ive is plagiarizing Rams, when really Ive is just carrying on Rams' design initiative in a way that is totally respectful. Not to mention that Rams' himself likes Apples' designs.

Most tediously, people won't notice this post, won't get it out of their collective systems, and then there will be doubles as a result of my poor FPP-design. irony?
posted by From Bklyn at 10:30 AM on January 16, 2008

Yeah, it is terribly worded.

Interesting post nonetheless. I'm familiar with Rams' work but I hadn't seen the side by side comparisons before. I hadn't seen ffffound.com either.
posted by rog at 1:20 PM on January 16, 2008