Product designer Dieter Rams became famous in the 20th century for his household products. Rams’ credo: “less is more” was a garantee for success. And some fifty years ago he came up with his 10 principles of good design. These guidelines remain valid even to this day.
See Dieter Rams’ famous Schneewittchensarg, in English Snow White’s Coffin. designed when he Rams was only 24 year old, and on the market in 1954. The Schneewittchensarg was considered a revolutionary in design.
“Dieter Rams is one of the most influential industrial designers to ever live. Even if you don’t know who he is, you probably use products that were inspired by his thinking everyday. He wrote the Ten Principles for Good Design, and they’re basically like the design bible. Designers must never question them. So that’s exactly what we’re going to do now.”
The (American) Black Forest Family. “Between Jonathan and me, we have 12 years of collective work experience in Germany. And during that time, German work culture has taught us a lot about work values and the atmosphere of employment in Germany, and how different it is from working in the United States.
Some of these are monumental (like parental leave in Germany, work/life balance, and sick leave) and some of them are small nuances (like work habits and break time). But collectively, our experience of working in Germany has made us better employees and strengthened our relationships with our colleagues. Let’s explore them together.”
Jump to 9:40 about: German “do it right the first time” vs. American “just go.”
The state-of-the-art production facilities of Wusthof in Solingen: From the Design and Engineering Department, Forging, Tempering, Grinding and polishing, Etching, Sharpening and Quality control to Packing and Warehouse. Quality – made in Germany/Solingen.
YouTube comments:
“I’ve got a complete 20 years old set of the classic line from my father three years ago. The Knifes are still sharp and I love them all. I think, twenty years later they will be a nice present to my children.”
“I have an old chefs knife that is simply amazing. It holds and edge forever but can be resharpened with just a few strokes with a diamond hone. Thanks, Wusthof family!”
“I have a set of those knives over 30 years and no problems with them!!”
“I have purchased two sets of these knives. To say the least they are the last knives you’ll ever have in your kitchen. Like anything they will last a lifetime given the proper care. My set has white handles and I haven’t seen any other set of knives with white handles.”
“I have a 1st World War Mauser bayonet made by Solingen from 1917. Nice to see you guys in business after all that time and history.”
Germany is known for producing high-quality goods, but did you know that the Germans rarely work overtime and usually leave the office at 5PM?
This video cites four reasons for why the Germans are very efficient in what they do. It’s a bit simplified, but it their core the messages are accurate.
One clearly false statement is that for Germans the path to the goal is of secondary importance. In Germany the process used to reach a goal is seen as one side of the coin, with the other side being the outcome
The voice is computer-generated, but clear. The statements about Japanese business culture are not relevant for us, at least not yet on UC.
German cars vs. American cars. Germans are very proud of their automobiles.
Comments in YouTube: “Telling Germans how to make cars is like telling Italians how to make pizza.” … “To anyone saying that we Germans don‘t have any humour: We do actually! We laugh at French and American cars!”
“German: Uses the most advanced tech known to mankind to build the fastest, safest and over all best cars ever. American: slaps wheels and v8 on coffin.” … “Built in USA: Can do cool stunts in Hollywood movies. Built in Germany: Can do the same but on a real autobahn.”
These are the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Germany Brands in 2018. Many are known only to Germans. But the top 20 are known worldwide.
What do the top German brands have in common: efficiency, reliability, and quality. Made in Germany.
The Mittelstand is often described as the heart of Germany’s economy – and rightly so, given that mid-sized firms account for the largest share of the country’s economic output, employ about 60 percent of all workers, provide crucial training, and contribute significantly to corporate tax revenues in Germany. See BDI
Ludwig Erhard, the Economics Minister who crafted post-war West Germany’s economic miracle (Wirtschaftswunder) warned against reducing the Mittelstand to a mere quantitative definition, but instead emphasized more qualitative characteristics which embody the German Mittelstand, as it is “much more of an ethos and a fundamental disposition of how one acts and behaves in society.”
This video is full of rather embarrassing clichés. And those clichés say more about the people repeating them than they do about the people they purport to describe.
Germany has the third-largest economy on the planet with only ca. eighty-five million people. Many of their companies dominate their markets. As if the German people did not know how to solve problems.
As one German commenter wrote: “I really don’t get how we are one of the most productive and powerful economies in the world while having to agree with this 100% at the same time.”
Oh wait, maybe because the maker of the video, Daniel-Ryan Spaulding, is an American comedian based in Berlin, and not, for example, an engineer working in any of the many world-class German companies.
Of particular interest to us as students of German culture are minutes 22:20 to 25:00 in this very interesting mini-documentary about Hans Holbein. Pay particular attention to the segment 24:00-24:37. “If you wanted precision, quality and Vorsprung durch Technik (the current motto of Audi) you bought German.”
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543) was a German painter and printmaker who worked in the Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.
Holbein was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, but he worked mainly in Basel, Switzerland as a young artist. Holbein travelled to England in 1526 in search of work, with a recommendation from the great European thinker, Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Holbein was welcomed into the humanist circle of Thomas More, the Archbishop of Canterbury, where he quickly built a strong reputation. By 1535, he was King’s Painter to none other than Henry VIII of England.
And by the way, the documentary is done exceptionally well. Tudor England. Henry the VIII. Thomas More. And, of course, Thomas Cromwell. Very much worth watching in full.