2018-02-23 18:58:03 +00:00
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---
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created_at: '2009-08-14T17:54:57.000Z'
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title: 1960s Braun Products Hold the Secrets to Apple's Future (2008)
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url: http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-braun-products-hold-the-secrets-to-apples-future
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author: kirubakaran
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points: 42
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story_text:
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comment_text:
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num_comments: 6
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created_at_i: 1250272497
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_tags:
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- story
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- author_kirubakaran
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- story_763491
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objectID: '763491'
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2018-06-08 12:05:27 +00:00
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year: 2008
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2018-02-23 18:58:03 +00:00
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---
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2018-03-03 09:35:28 +00:00
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2018-02-23 18:19:40 +00:00
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2018-03-03 09:35:28 +00:00
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The year 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of the iMac, the computer that
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changed everything at Apple, hailing a new design era spearheaded by
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design genius Jonathan Ive. What most people don't know is that there's
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another man whose products are at the heart of Ive's design philosophy,
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an influence that permeates every single product at Apple, from hardware
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to [user-interface
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design](http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/great-artists-steal/is-that-a-braun-et44-in-your-iphone-280925.php).
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That man is Dieter Rams, and his old designs for Braun during the '50s
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and '60s hold all the clues not only for past and present Apple
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products, but their future as well:
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2018-02-23 18:19:40 +00:00
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2018-03-03 09:35:28 +00:00
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When you look at the Braun products by Dieter Rams—many of them at New
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York's MoMA—and compare them to Ive's work at Apple, you can clearly see
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the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of
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color, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around
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the function with no artificial design, keeping the design "honest."
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2018-02-23 18:19:40 +00:00
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2018-03-03 09:35:28 +00:00
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This passion for "simplicity" and "honest design" that is always
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declared by Ive whenever he's interviewed or appears in a promo video,
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is at the core of Dieter Rams' 10 principles for good design:
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• Good design is innovative.
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• Good design makes a product useful.
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• Good design is aesthetic.
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• Good design helps us to understand a product.
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• Good design is unobtrusive.
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• Good design is honest.
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• Good design is durable.
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• Good design is consequent to the last detail.
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• Good design is concerned with the environment.
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• Good design is as little design as possible.
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Advertisement
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Ive's inspiration on Rams' design principles goes beyond the philosophy
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and gets straight into a direct homage to real products created decades
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ago. Amazing pieces of industrial design that still today remain fresh,
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true classics that have survived the test of time.
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The similarities between products from Braun and Apple are sometimes
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uncanny, others more subtle, but there's always a common root that
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provides the new Apple objects not only with a beautiful simplicity but
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also with a close
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familiarity.
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Advertisement
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**Braun Atelier TV and latest iMac
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24.**
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**Braun T1000 radio and PowerMac G5/Mac
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Pro.**
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Advertisement
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**Detail of the radio perforated aluminum
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surface.**
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**Braun T3 pocket radio and Apple
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iPod.**
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Advertisement
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**Braun L60 sound system and Apple iPod
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Hi-Fi.**
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**Braun LE1 speaker and Apple iMac.**
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Some people will probably call these examples a "rip-off" but, in a
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world where industrial design and art are constantly being recycled into
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new work, I just see Apple's products as a great evolution to classic
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concepts. Now, as I look at Rams' work I can't help but to wonder: which
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of these old Braun designs will Apple revive next? Is there a MacBook
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Air—the rumored ultra-slim wire-free portable that seems to be the
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favorite bet for tomorrow's keynote—in there?
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Advertisement
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Hopefully, we'll discover at least some answers tomorrow. See you at
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Macworld\! \[[Design
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Museum](http://www.designmuseum.org/design/dieter-rams), [Dieter
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Rams](http://www.io.tudelft.nl/public/vdm/fda/rams/rams801.htm) and [O
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Globo
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Online](http://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/mac/post.asp?cod_Post=86062)\]
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