Look around you, specifically at the objects that are surrounding you right now.  How would you describe the products you use for your everyday life?  Unobtrusive?  Innovative?  Honest? 

These are the kind of questions that make up the legendary industrial designer Dieter Rams' 10 Guiding Principles of Good Design.  They have also helped him make some of the most forward-thinking home products of the 20^th century.  And starting this week, you can see some his most famous works at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.

Born in 1932 in Wiesbaden, Germany, Dieter Rams began his career at the Braun Company in 1955. Though we now think of Braun as a maker of flashy grooming products (such as the cruZer), back in the mid-20^th century they were known for their innovative electronics and home appliances.  At Braun, Dieter Rams pushed the boundaries of industrial design, reducing the forms of record players, wristwatches and, yes, even electric razors down to their most basic function, adding details only when absolutely necessary.  His aim was to make functional, timeless objects, products that could serve the consumer no matter what their location or language.  “Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live,” he once explained, “is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.”

Dieter Rams in 2006 (Vitsoe Wikipedia Commons)

Rams’ work is still influencing designers today, most notability the head designer at Apple, Jonathan Ive.  In a new book on Rams entitled As Little Design As Possible, Ive recounts seeing a Braun juicer at age 10, noting “it was the essence of juice made material: a static object that perfectly described the process by which it worked.  It felt complete and it felt right.”  You can see Dieter Rams' influence in Ive’s design for Apple's iPhones and computers, particularly in their curved metallic casings and stark, minimal finishes.

Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams is on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art starting this week and runs until February 20^th, 2012.

Slideshow: Design by Dieter Rams