You’d be hard-pressed to find a stronger sense of admiration than Sir Jony Ive’s for Dieter Rams. The two industrial designers may have created different products for different eras, but a sleek, “less is more” style—one that Rams himself championed 50 years ago—ties them together. Now that Ive has announced he is leaving Apple to start his own agency, LoveFrom, with Marc Newson, will Rams’s influence on him continue?
Dieter Rams![]() Jonathan Hordle/Shutterstock |
Jony Ive![]() Nick Harvey/Shutterstock |
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DESIGN STYLE
A mix of Bauhaus and the Ulm School of Design, |
DESIGN STYLE The 21st-century version |
HOMETOWN
Wiesbaden, Germany |
HOMETOWN
London, England |
AGE 87 |
AGE 52 |
IGNOMINIOUS BEGINNINGS He applied to Braun on a bet. When the company |
IGNOMINIOUS BEGINNINGS He began his career at a start-up agency called |
PORTABLE MUSIC PLAYER The Braun T3 pocket radio ![]() Shutterstock |
PORTABLE MUSIC PLAYER iPod ![]() Shutterstock |
COMPANY Braun ![]() Courtesy of Braun |
COMPANY Apple ![]() Courtesy of Apple |
US PATENTS 20 |
US PATENTS 1,672 |
DREAM DIGS A three-story home in Germany’s Taunus mountain range, |
DREAM DIGS A $17 million house along San Francisco’s “Billionaire’s Row” |
HE DESIGNED WHAT? A colorful cigarette lighter designed to look |
HE DESIGNED WHAT? He advised director J. J. Abrams on the design of the |
DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT HIM 1 |
NET WORTH 0 |
THE ONE THEY WANT TO TAKE BACK Everything. He later regretted his career path, ![]() Shutterstock |
THE ONE THEY WANT TO TAKE BACK The Apple USB Mouse, better known as the “hockey ![]() Shutterstock |
BANE OF HIS EXISTENCE When people call him a designer. |
BANE OF HIS EXISTENCE Skeuomorphism. He hated that Apple’s interfaces leaned heavily |