Design department
From the mid-1950s, the Braun brand was closely linked with the concept of German modern industrial design and its combination of functionality and technology.[19] In 1956, Braun created its first design department, headed by Fritz Eichler (Designer), who instituted a collaboration with the Ulm School of Design to develop a new product line.[20] In 1956 the company introduced its famous Braun SK 4 ("Snow White's Coffin"), designed by a youthful Dieter Rams together with Herbert Lindinger[21] and the pioneer of system design, Hans Gugelot,[22] then lecturer of design at the Ulm School of Design.[23] Rams soon became the most influential designer at Braun and was a key figure in the German design renaissance of the late 1950s and 1960s.[24][25] Eventually becoming head of Braun's design staff, Rams' influence was soon evidenced in many products. Braun's audio equipment and the high-quality "D"-series (D25–D47) 35 mm slide projectors from this period are some better examples of Functionalist design.
Another icon of modern design, but less well known, is the LE1 electrostatic loudspeaker unit (for which technological aspects were licensed from the British company QUAD). Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs are also responsible for the classic range of Braun alarm clocks, collaborating first on the design of Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III in the early 1970s. They later collaborated on the AB 20 in 1975, followed by a number of other models.[26] These designs were discontinued by Braun in 2005.
In the 1970s, a design approach influenced by pop art began to inspire Braun products, which included many common household appliances and products. Contemporary Braun design of the period incorporated this new approach in bright colors and a lightness of touch while still being clean-lined in keeping with functionalist philosophy.
For nearly 30 years, Dieter Rams served as head of design for Braun A.G. until his retirement in 1995, when Peter Schneider succeeded him. Other designers who worked in Braun's design department include Gerd Alfred Muller,[27] Reinhold Weiss, Richard Fischer, Robert Oberheim, Florian Seiffert, Hartwig Kahlcke, Herbert Hirche, Fritz Eichler (designer), Roland Ullmann, and Ludwig Littmann. Many of the designs that Rams and the Braun design department produced are held in the collections of museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt.[28]
The work of the Braun design department, and especially the Ten Principles of Good design as defined by Rams, influenced both Steve Jobs and Apple designer Jonathan Ive.[29][30]
The designer Jasper Morrison has spoken[31] about his grandfather's "Snow White's Coffin" being an "important influence on [his] choice in becoming a designer."[32][33][34]
More recent collaborations that highlight the ongoing influence of the work of the Braun design department have included projects such as Braun wristwatches designed by Paul Smith[35] and Virgil Abloh's re-working of the classic BC02 alarm clock for his Off-White brand, which sought to "open up the conversation on the role of design today."[36]
