Why should you watch Rams on BBC Four tonight?
After the success of our Sussex premiere of the screening of 'Rams', a film about the legendary product designer, Dieter Rams, Philip Johnson has written a guest blog in celebration of its premiere on terrestrial television.
Locate East Sussex wants to change the way business leaders in East Sussex think about design in their companies.
Good design can set your product apart, make your product more attractive to customers and increase its reach in the marketplace.
Rams on the BBC
Good Designs, Good Business
Given the nature of many East Sussex-based companies, it is surprising there is not more appreciation of the benefits of good design. Worryingly, when asking companies about design, the muted responses we hear have included:
- “It sounds interesting but we don’t really use design”
- “I’m not sure what’s in it for a company like mine?”
- “Design’s not something we are spending on right now”
Design is too often dismissed as something that’s only to do with how a product looks, rather than something that should be at the very centre of a company’s operations.
Rams' mission
The acclaimed film ‘Rams’ on BBC4 tonight at 9.00pm is about the influential designer, Dieter Rams. You may not have heard of him, but it’s highly likely that products like your phone or your computer, electrical products you may use at home or work have been influenced by Dieter Rams and the approach he developed during his time as design director of Braun.
Rams’ objective was simple - to design useful products which are easy to operate. His obsessive attention to detail resulted in designs which always look effortless with a simplicity that comes from rigorous testing and experimenting with new materials.
Making design impactful
Clearly not every business can use design to this extent, so what can design do for your company? How can design impact your business and how can you start the process?
Good design can set your product apart, make your product more attractive to customers and increase its reach in the marketplace.
Design is critical in selling any product, improving it and securing you a return on your investment.
Less widely appreciated is the potential that design has to help you to reduce production costs, optimise the use of materials and minimise waste.
The impact of good design practice on products can be transformational, as it can in other areas where design can have an immediate effect including user-experience, web, Internet of Things, graphics, packaging and a host of other things.
Special thanks to Towner Gallery, De La Warr Pavilion, Charleston and Design Brighton for supporting our original event.