iF Design Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 – Dieter Rams
The newly established Lifetime Achievement Award aims to honor icons who have changed the tone of what is considered excellence in design: People that have made history and shaped the design world as we know it today! We want to honor these selected icons for their outstanding contributions to the global design community.
There is no one else who is a better fit for the first iF Design Lifetime Achievement Award – than Dieter Rams!
"Grandfather of the iPhone"
Dieter Rams receiving the first-ever iF Lifetime Achievement Award on the world's largest theater stage in Berlin. From left to right: Uwe Cremering, Dieter Rams, Fritz Frenkler, Christoph Böninger.
Just a few people in this world succeed in setting design standards that even generations later are still state-of-the art: Rams was called the "Godfather of Design" or the "Grandfather of the iPhone": His works influenced the most famous industrial designs.
His 10 Principles of Good Design are THE guidelines that the best designers live by. He is known as “Mister Braun”, “Mister German Design”, the man who inspired Jonathan Jon Ive and Apple. Rams, who first began his entry into the world of design as a carpenter, then as an architect, is a true hero of minimalism.
Almost 2,000 guests from 42 nations cheered and stood up when design icon Dieter Rams came on stage to receive his award. What a magnificent moment!
Biography
Dieter Rams grandfather was a carpenter, which significantly influenced Rams' professional future. Rams began studying architecture and interior design in 1947 at the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden, today known as RheinMain University. After a year he interrupted his studies to gain practical experience as a carpenter, just like his grandfather.
After his studies, he initially worked for German architect Otto Apel. In 1955, Rams was hired by the electrical manufacturer Braun as an architect and interior designer – turned product designer. After six years with the company, he was promoted to chief designer and held this position until 1995. So he played a huge part in shaping Braun's characteristic design for over 40 years!
Dieter Rams and iF Design
Dieter Rams was part of the iF jury session in 1990 - with some other design legends. From left to right: iF tech assistant, iF tech assistant, Herbert Lindinger, Kenji Ekuan, iF tech assistant, Herbert Schultes, Dean Richardson, Robert Blaich, Michele de Lucchi, Dieter Rams, Yuri Solovjev, Vittorio Lampugnani, Stefan Lengyel.
Dieter Rams and iF Design share some major history together as well: He was a juror at iF Design and part of the iF Design Starnberg Talks in 2008, where he posed the question “How much design can the climate take?” with colleagues such as Kurt Weidemann, Herbert H. Schultes, Franco Clivio and Peter Raacke.
Making the world a better place through design was always at the heart of all his work – and while receiving the award on the stage of the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin on 29 May 2024, he encouraged the audience to keep this spirit up with their important work!
“We at iF Design are proud to hand over the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dieter Rams – and can’t wait to honor even more design icons in the future”, says iF Design CEO Uwe Cremering.