Help Make a Feature-Length Dieter Rams Documentary a Reality
From the director of ‘Helvetica,’ ‘Objectified’ and ‘Urbanized.’
Dieter Rams is responsible for countless ubiquitous objects that we know and love and interact with on a daily basis: he has had a hand in shaping calculators, coffeemakers, radios, chairs, shelving units and over 500 other designs over the years. His book As Little Design as Possible is the closest thing that industrial designers have to scripture; so much so, in fact, that the man’s 10 principles of good design are referred to informally as “The 10 Commandments.” These simple principles extend beyond design and permeate the man’s outlook on life, his entire philosophy.
Filmmaker Gary Hustwit has interviewed Rams before, primarily as a talking head in his feature-length documentary on industrial design, Objectified, where Rams proclaimed Apple as the only company upholding all ten of his Commandments in theory and in praxis. Now, the New York-based filmmaker wants to turn the lens on Rams himself, seeking crowdfunding for a documentary, simply titled Rams (see the 10th Commandment). Hustwit and his crew have been given unprecedented access to the notoriously private 84-year-old German, who still works at refining and reissuing his timeless designs at Vitsœ.
The funds will extend beyond the production and filming of the documentary and into the preservation of Rams’ vast archive of projects, both realized and not. You can watch the video pitch above and support the project here, if you’re so inclined.
