Much has been written about Dieter Rams, most of which can be distilled to the following:

• Born in 1932; strongly influenced by the presence of his grandfather who was a carpenter; trained as an architect
• Recruited by the Braun brothers in 1955 to join the company they had recently taken over from their father
• Protégé of Ulm luminaries Hans Gugelot, Fritz Eichler and Otl Aicher
• Head of design at Braun from 1961 to 1995
• Responsible, with his design team, for many of the seminal domestic electrical products (and some furniture) of the twentieth century
• Niels Vitsœ and Otto Zapf started producing his furniture designs in 1959

Rams introduced the idea of sustainable development in design in the 1970s but was acutely aware that the output of Braun and Vitsœ was potentially contributing to the problem. Accordingly he asked himself the question: is my design good design? The answer formed his now celebrated ten commandments.

Still, today, he is proclaiming as passionately as ever his message for integrity in design whilst honing his advice for the generations that follow, many of whom generously acknowledge his influence.

As Hugh Pearman wrote in Blueprint magazine on the occasion of Dieter Rams's 70th birthday, "Happy birthday, Dieter. Your message has never seemed so relevant." Indeed.

Why so?

Rams asks designers to take more responsibility for the parlous state of the world around us; to consider how we can continue to live on a planet with finite resources if we simply throw everything away.

Or, as the Brundtland Commission defined sustainability in 1987, that we must live in a way which "meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." Quite so.

What about considering whether more companies can persuade those who live in affluent societies to buy less of a better quality, rather than more of an inferior quality - and then to live with it for longer?

The world is littered with examples of warnings having gone unheeded; can we not see that the consumption of ever more short-lived products that must soon be discarded, will end in tears? Vitsœ and Rams are revolted by the fact that some of the world's most influential furniture producers explicitly encourage the frequent disposal of furniture.

Or, as Massimo Vignelli exclaimed in a lecture, "Obsolescence is a crime!" Hear, hear.

Dieter Rams' work was on show at The Design Museum, London during 2005 and at Moss Gallery, New York in 2006.

Dieter Rams' portraits:
2002 by David Vintiner
1972 by Ingeborg Kracht Rams

Braun SK4 designed in 1956

Ten commandments of good design