自從2008年的iMac改變了一切開始，Apple工業(yè)設(shè)計高級副總裁英國人Jonathan Ive開啟了一個嶄新的設(shè)計時代。但鮮為人知的是，有一個人在Ive的設(shè)計哲學(xué)中留下了不可磨滅的影響，這種影響也波及之后每個Apple產(chǎn)品的硬件和UI設(shè)計。這個人就是Dieter Rams，他在1950~1960年代為德國Braun設(shè)計的一系列產(chǎn)品，看上去似乎印證了Apple這十幾年來的涉及足跡，甚至還在指引未來的方向。

The year 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of the iMac, the computer that changed everything at Apple, hailing a new design era spearheaded by design genius Jonathan Ive. What most people don’t know is that there’s another man whose products are at the heart of Ive’s design philosophy, an influence that permeates every single product at Apple, from hardware to user-interface design. That man is Dieter Rams, and his old designs for Braun during the ’50s and ’60s hold all the clues not only for past and present Apple products, but their future as well:

When you look at the Braun products by Dieter Rams—many of them at New York’s MoMA—and compare them to Ive’s work at Apple, you can clearly see the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of color, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around the function with no artificial design, keeping the design “honest.”

This passion for “simplicity” and “honest design” that is always declared by Ive whenever he’s interviewed or appears in a promo video, is at the core of Dieter Rams’ 10 principles for good design:

Good design is innovative. 好的設(shè)計是創(chuàng)新的。

Good design makes a product useful. 好的設(shè)計讓產(chǎn)品變得有用。

Good design is aesthetic. 好的設(shè)計符合審美。

Good design helps us to understand a product. 好的設(shè)計幫助我們理解產(chǎn)品。

Good design is unobtrusive. 好的設(shè)計不張揚。

Good design is honest. 好的設(shè)計是真誠的。

Good design is durable. 好的設(shè)計經(jīng)得起時間考驗。

Good design is consequent to the last detail. 好的設(shè)計延伸到細(xì)枝末節(jié)。

Good design is concerned with the environment. 好的設(shè)計為環(huán)境考慮。

Good design is as little design as possible. 好的設(shè)計就是設(shè)計得越少越好。

Ive’s inspiration on Rams’ design principles goes beyond the philosophy and gets straight into a direct homage to real products created decades ago. Amazing pieces of industrial design that still today remain fresh, true classics that have survived the test of time.

The similarities between products from Braun and Apple are sometimes uncanny, others more subtle, but there’s always a common root that provides the new Apple objects not only with a beautiful simplicity but also with a close familiarity.

Braun Atelier TV and latest iMac 24

Braun T1000 radio and PowerMac G5/Mac Pro

Detail of the radio perforated aluminum surface

Braun T3 pocket radio and Apple iPod

Braun L60 sound system and Apple iPod Hi-Fi

Braun LE1 speaker and Apple iMac

Some people will probably call these examples a “rip-off” but, in a world where industrial design and art are constantly being recycled into new work, I just see Apple’s products as a great evolution to classic concepts. Now, as I look at Rams’ work I can’t help but to wonder: which of these old Braun designs will Apple revive next? Is there a MacBook Air—the rumored ultra-slim wire-free portable that seems to be the favorite bet for tomorrow’s keynote—in there?