- Introduction
- Made by Britain
- Sorry, no sale
- 60s 606 is 50
- Five reasons
- Our heritage
- Vitsœ's ethos
- What Vitsœ means
- Dieter Rams
- Customer comments
- Join us
An ingenious kit of parts
Like Lego for grown-ups, Vitsœ’s shelving system is an ingenious kit of parts
Vitsœ’s ethos
Living better, with less, that lasts longer. Mark Adams, managing director of Vitsœ explains our ethos.
Dieter Rams (b1932) was strongly influenced by the presence of his grandfather, a carpenter. Rams trained as an architect before joining electronics manufacturer Braun in 1955.
Dieter Rams stands for integrity in design. He stands for true functionalism. He is anti-styling, anti-waste. He is against the throwaway society. He likes to develop a product over years, steadily improving it.
Hugh Pearman, Blueprint
One of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century, Dieter Rams made Braun a household name in the 50s, producing electronic gadgets remarkable both for their austere aesthetic and user-friendliness.
Francesca Syz, Elle Decoration
Sustainable development
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 principles. (“To this day I can’t find a more precise definition of good design…” Michelle Ogundehin, Elle Decoration)
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.
Obsolescence is a crime
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?
RT 20 superHet VHF and medium wave radio, 1961 Dieter Rams
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 talks to TV&A
50 years ago, record players didn’t look like machines. They looked like old-fashioned, brown wood furniture. But in 1956, Dieter Rams’s SK4 record player, nicknamed Snow White’s Coffin, changed all that.