10 Things Everyone Should Know About Hans Hollein

Born in Austria in 1934.


Architect and designer, receiving degrees from schools in Vienna, Chicago, and Berkley before embarking on an illustrious career.


Winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1985.


Has been featured as an artist on numerous occasions, and has works included in collections at the Mueseum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto.


Architectural works include: 


Museum of Glass and Ceramics in Tehran

Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt, and many, many more.


Apart from his architectural endeavors, works as an established product designer. 


Examples of his design:

Examples of his artwork: 

Currently lives and works in Vienna

sources:

http://www.hollein.com/index.htm

http://www.art-directory.info/design/hans-hollein-1934/index.shtml

Dieter Rams: In depth investigation

        Good design is innovative. It is aesthetic. It is unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, and thorough down to the last detail. It makes a product useful, understandable, and environmentally friendly. Good design is as little design as possible. A deceivingly simple set of rules.

Dieter Rams legacy as a designer lies not only in his definition of good design, but in his ability to create products which fit this definition over his forty year career. Rams’ influence in the field is undeniable. His designs for the German electronic devices manufacturer Braun are celebrated in museums internationally: objects as simple as record players and coffee makers. Rams has received prestigious awards for his work, and is highly regarded in the design community. 

Rams’ principles of good design have allowed his products to maintain a longevity which is rare, especially among consumer electronics. As technology evolves, electronic device design is quick to become obsolete and antiquated. Simply consider brick-like cell phones of the nineties, or massive tape decks of decades past. However, Rams’ designs of record players and film projectors from the sixties still maintain a modern elegance. It would even be difficult to place them in a certain time period if presented without context. 

Rams’ abilities and insights into the design world set him apart from many of his colleagues. His prestigious career, savvy design principles, and long lasting products have cemented his legacy. The following are examples of the works which have helped him build up such a name in the design community: 

Basic facts about Dieter Rams:

Born May 20, 1932 in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Studied Architecture at Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden throughout the 40's and 50's .

Began working for Braun Electronics in late 50's, where he would stay as head of design until 1995.

Recieved 'Kölner Klopfer' prize in 2010 for his influence in the design world. 


sources:

As Little Design As Possible: The Work of Dieter Rams
by: Sophie Lovell

http://www.vitsoe.com/en/gb/about/dieterrams

Syd Mead

I came across this designer after seeing the film Tron, which Mead worked on extensively (the original, that is), along with other notable movies such as Blade Runner and Aliens. Mead was born in Minnesota in 1933, and has since become well known for his conceptual futuristic designs. Apart from work in sci-fi Hollywood productions, he has worked for motor companies, electronics manufacturers, and a variety of other companies in need of his unique design skills. He launched the company Syd Mead Inc. in 1970, and has been working in a plethora of design fields since. However, he is still best known for his work in conceptual and futuristic designs. Some of his most important works include:

Conceptual designs for the following films: The Island, Tron, The Jetsons, Alien, Blade Runner
Work for Ford Motor Company and PHILLIPS Electronics
Gundam Robot Design

sources:

Syd Mead's Sentury II by: Syd Mead

http://www.sydmead.com/v/10/splash/