Sustainable design and the need for more self-explanatory products are two topics discussed inĀ thisĀ brief interview with the iconic industrial designer, Dieter Rams. In addition to not being a fan of celebrity designers–or ‘pop’ design–he also has a dislike for design being seen as a form of art:
Design has nothing to do with art. Design can help to make the products we use everyday, to make them “less but better”. We have enough products. If you look at the market you have ten or 20 coffee makers that basically look all the same, doing all the same thing: they are making coffee. We don’t need 20 of these things, we need one good one. A lot of my colleagues are concentrated on making spectacular thingsāpieces of art they want to be art. It’s not good for the few companies in the world that take design seriously.