The definitive monograph on Dieter Rams, one of the most influential product designers of the twentieth century As head of design at Braun from 1961 to 1995, Dieter Rams created some of the twentieth century's most iconic objects. Rams's life and work are indelibly linked to his thoughts about how people live, and how they can live better. Products he designed in the 1960s are still produced and sold today, and his ideas on good design continue to inspire designers and consumers. Now available again with a stunning new cover, this comprehensive monograph, with a foreword by Jonathan (Jony) Ive, former chief design officer of Apple, explores not only Rams's life and work, but also his design philosophy. The book includes detailed text covering Rams's life, the intellectual context in which he worked, his designs for Braun and Vitsoe, and the ideas and lectures he developed as an advocate for good design. Sketches and photographs of finished products and prototypes provide insight into Rams's design process, diverse archival material gives a complete picture of his life and work, and specially commissioned photographs of Dieter Rams's house and the Braun archive provide an exclusive glimpse of the world's most complete collection of Rams's designs. Known for the hundreds of iconic products he designed for Braun and Vitsoe, this comprehensive and exhaustive monograph also features Rams's only architectural work and the ideas about living sustainably embodied in his 'ten commandments'.
THE LIFE-CHANGING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • MORE THAN TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD • Now in a 10th anniversary edition featuring a new introduction and bonus 21-day challenge. “Essentialism holds the keys to solving one of the great puzzles of life: How can we do less but accomplish more?”—Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again Essentialism isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin? Are you often busy but not productive? Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked? If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist. Essentialism is more than a time-management technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter. By forcing us to apply more selective criteria for where to spend our precious time and energy, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices, instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us. Essentialism is not one more thing to do. It’s a whole new way of doing less, but better, in every area of our lives. Join the millions of people who have used Essentialism to change their outlook on the world.
Exquisitely produced to reflect Dieter Rams' aesthetic philosophy, this book presents highlights from a forty-year career designing iconic consumer products that enhance our daily lives. For decades, anyone who cared about product design looked to the Braun label when choosing their appliances, radios, and other consumer items. Now Dieter Rams, the guiding force behind the Braun look, breaks down his design principles and processes in this elegant book. Enumerating each of his ten principles such as good design is innovative; good design is aesthetic; good design is useful, etc., this book presents one hundred items that embody these guidelines. Readers will find items that are familiar such as the ubiquitous coffee grinder but also those that are more unusual such as shelving systems and cigarette lighters. A fascinating essay places Dieter Rams in the context of modern design, from Bauhaus to Philip Johnson. Archival materials include photos of Rams' design team and excerpts from his publications and speeches. The book closes with a chronological overview of design icons, categorized by function, that show the enormous breadth of Rams' vision. Taken together, these images and texts offer the most comprehensive overview of Dieter Rams' work to date and will serve as both a reference and an inspiration for anyone interested in how and why good design matters.
Do Less Better teaches leaders how to recognize the complexity and inefficiencies within their businesses and reveals how they can simplify and streamline through specialization and sacrifice. According to Bell, a company's willingness to focus on a particular vision or identity ensures viability and strengthens its competitive edge.
From the former director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, a timely and passionate case for the role of the well-designed object in the digital age. Curator and scholar Glenn Adamson opens Fewer, Better Things by contrasting his beloved childhood teddy bear to the smartphones and digital tablets children have today. He laments that many children and adults are losing touch with the material objects that have nurtured human development for thousands of years. The objects are still here, but we seem to care less and know less about them. In his presentations to groups, he often asks an audience member what he or she knows about the chair the person is sitting in. Few people know much more than whether it's made of wood, plastic, or metal. If we know little about how things are made, it's hard to remain connected to the world around us. Fewer, Better Things explores the history of craft in its many forms, explaining how raw materials, tools, design, and technique come together to produce beauty and utility in handmade or manufactured items. Whether describing the implements used in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the use of woodworking tools, or the use of new fabrication technologies, Adamson writes expertly and lovingly about the aesthetics of objects, and the care and attention that goes into producing them. Reading this wise and elegant book is a truly transformative experience.
The Wall Street Journal bestseller—a Financial Times Business Book of the Month and named by The Washington Post as “One of the 11 Leadership Books to Read in 2018”—is “a refreshingly data-based, clearheaded guide” (Publishers Weekly) to individual performance, based on a groundbreaking study. Why do some people perform better at work than others? This deceptively simple question continues to confound professionals in all sectors of the workforce. Now, after a unique, five-year study of more than 5,000 managers and employees, Morten Hansen reveals the answers in his “Seven Work Smarter Practices” that can be applied by anyone looking to maximize their time and performance. Each of Hansen’s seven practices is highlighted by inspiring stories from individuals in his comprehensive study. You’ll meet a high school principal who engineered a dramatic turnaround of his failing high school; a rural Indian farmer determined to establish a better way of life for women in his village; and a sushi chef, whose simple preparation has led to his unassuming restaurant being awarded the maximum of three Michelin stars. Hansen also explains how the way Alfred Hitchcock filmed Psycho and the 1911 race to become the first explorer to reach the South Pole both illustrate the use of his seven practices. Each chapter “is intended to inspire people to be better workers…and improve their own work performance” (Booklist) with questions and key insights to allow you to assess your own performance and figure out your work strengths, as well as your weaknesses. Once you understand your individual style, there are mini-quizzes, questionnaires, and clear tips to assist you focus on a strategy to become a more productive worker. Extensive, accessible, and friendly, Great at Work will help us “reengineer our work lives, reduce burnout, and improve performance and job satisfaction” (Psychology Today).
The UK is said to have been one of the most prolific reformers of its public administration. Successive reforms have been accompanied by claims that the changes would make the world a better place by transforming the way government worked. Despite much discussion and debate over government makeovers and reforms, however, there has been remarkably little systematic evaluation of what happened to cost and performance in UK government during the last thirty years. A Government that Worked Better and Cost Less? aims to address that gap, offering a unique evaluation of UK government modernization programmes from 1980 to the present day. The book provides a distinctive framework for evaluating long-term performance in government, bringing together the 'working better' and 'costing less' dimensions, and presents detailed primary evidence within that framework. This book explores the implications of their findings for widely held ideas about public management, the questions they present, and their policy implications for a period in which pressures to make government 'work better and cost less' are unlikely to go away.
Made in close collaboration with Dieter Rams himself, this catalogue raisonné is the ultimate reference on one of the most influential product designers of all time
Wear just 33 items for 3 months and get back all the JOY you were missing while you were worrying what to wear. In Project 333, minimalist expert and author of Soulful Simplicity Courtney Carver takes a new approach to living simply--starting with your wardrobe. Project 333 promises that not only can you survive with just 33 items in your closet for 3 months, but you'll thrive just like the thousands of woman who have taken on the challenge and never looked back. Let the de-cluttering begin! Ever ask yourself how many of the items in your closet you actually wear? In search of a way to pare down on her expensive shopping habit, consistent lack of satisfaction with her purchases, and ever-growing closet, Carver created Project 333. In this book, she guides readers through their closets item-by-item, sifting through all the emotional baggage associated with those oh-so strappy high-heel sandals that cost a fortune but destroy your feet every time you walk more than a few steps to that extensive collection of never-worn little black dresses, to locate the items that actually look and feel like you. As Carver reveals in this book, once we finally release ourselves from the cyclical nature of consumerism and focus less on our shoes and more on our self-care, we not only look great we feel great-- and we can see a clear path to make other important changes in our lives that reach far beyond our closets. With tips, solutions, and a closet-full of inspiration, this life-changing minimalist manual shows readers that we are so much more than what we wear, and that who we are and what we have is so much more than enough.