Dieter Rams

• Studied architecture at the the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden for one year, then left in 1947 to learn carpentry.
• He eventually returned to school and finished his degree in 1953, after which he worked for Otto Appel's architecture firm.
• In 1955, Dieter began working for Braun as an architect and interior designer, applying his architecture background to design exhibition sets and offices
• But he became increasingly interested in designing products, the first product he worked on being the SK4 radio and record player. Abandoning the traditional wooden case, Rams and Hans Gugelot worked together to design a more industrial metal case with a plastic lid
• After several more successful designs, Rams became the head of the product design and development division at Braun in 1962, a position in which he strove to create products that were not only easy, but also enjoyable to use.
• Rams set many industry standards, including his deconstruction of the stereo system. Rams took the standard stereo system with integrated speakers, and separated the speakers into individual units, in order to make the receiver unit more compact.
• The development of new transistor technologies in the 1960's made large radio tubes obsolete, and allowed Rams to design more compact, functional products. 
• By the mid-60's Rams' work was considered the apex of modernity and his products were much sought-after by fashionable consumers

• Rams' approach to design is summed up by his "10 Principles of Good Design" 

1. Good design is innovative.
2. Good design makes a product useful.
3. Good design is aesthetic.
4. Good design makes a product understandable.
5. Good design is unobtrusive.
6. Good design is honest.
7. Good design is long-lasting.
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly.
10. Good design is as little design as possible.

• According to Rams himself, Apple is the only company currently designing products according to his principles.

Sources:
http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/rams.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams
http://designmuseum.org/design/dieter-rams