Braun believes that Good Design can make lives better From the everyday things. To a better future.
Good design is
Simple.
Design that doesn’t get in the way of life. With that simple application of pressure - click - you get what you want. Nothing more than what it needs to be. Which means you can get on with what you want to be.
Useful.
Everything has a purpose. A human problem to solve. Down to the finest details. Because good design shouldn’t leave anything behind, it’s thorough and has a reason for being. There is no design for design’s sake.
Built to Last.
When something has been designed well. It doesn’t need anything new, there is no obsolescence - it doesn’t dominate or take over. It lasts. Better for the environment, better for people.
Simple.
Design that doesn’t get in the way of life. With that simple application of pressure - click - you get what you want. Nothing more than what it needs to be. Which means you can get on with what you want to be.
Useful.
Everything has a purpose. A human problem to solve. Down to the finest details. Because good design shouldn’t leave anything behind, it’s thorough and has a reason for being. There is no design for design’s sake.
Built to Last.
When something has been designed well. It doesn’t need anything new, there is no obsolescence - it doesn’t dominate or take over. It lasts. Better for the environment, better for people.
The 10 Principles of Good Design by Dieter Rams
1 Good design is innovative.
The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design.
2 Good design makes a product useful.
A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.
3 Good design is aesthetic.
The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
4 Good design makes a product understandable.
It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.
5 Good design is unobtrusive.
Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.
6 Good design is honest.
It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
7 Good design is long-lasting.
It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years - even in today’s throwaway society.
8 Good design is thorough to the last detail.
Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
9 Good design is environmentally friendly.
Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimises physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
10 Good design is as little design as possible.
Less, but better - because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with nonessentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.
We're building for a better life - back then, now and in the future.
Braun Multimix Blender
The 50's established the milkshake as a western staple, enabled in part by the Multimix, the state-of-the-art blender with a detachable mixing glass container. It cuts ingredients with industrial-grade efficacy. Still widely in use today.
KM3/31
A hugely influential blender or “food processor” as it was known that birthed a whole new product category: “kitchen machines” or appliances. With its hyper-reduced, simple and useful design one of the most influential industrial products of all time.
KSM 1/11
Design doesn’t get much more minimalistic than this: a coffee grinder so purpose-built it needed just one, centrallyplaced button to operate. Finely ground beans were just a finger click away.
HT 2
This toaster’s sleek, reduced design so inspired renowned artist Richard Hamilton that he based one of his works (aptly titled ‘Toaster’) on it. Oh, and it also browned bread to perfection.
KF 20
With a stacked, vertical design that resembled a water tower, the KF 20 was known as the Aromaster. Instantlyrecognizable for its unciventional shape, this coffee maker added a touch of the exrtaordinary to everyday morning filter coffee.
MPZ 22
This electric juicer, also known as the citromatic, was a dependable and incredibly easy-to-clean staple of kitchens across the world for decades. It took over two decades before Braun decided an update to the original design was due.
MR 6
A precursor of the more sophisticated MR 500, the MR 6 was sturdy and tough, meaning it could blend foods that´other products couldn't handle. An important stepping stone on the way to perfecting the handheld blender.
KF 40
This coffeemaker was somehow controversial within Braun, being made of cost-efficient polypropylene rather than sturdier polycarbonate, Braun's go-to plastic. Hence the KF 40's corrugated surface states a design solution that won over Dieter Rams.
MultiQuick 9
An all-round food blender that condensed the functionalities of devices many times its size into a simple, handheld 'wand'. The definition of reduced design: compact, yet powerful.
Braun produced the KM 3 food processor for more than three decades.
Braun produced the KM 3 food processor for more than three decades.
Here you can see the KM 3-31 model from 1957. The development of the KM 3 began with the construction of a test model to determine the most suitable rotational speed for the drive. After extensive mixing and kneading trials, the development team designed the drive unit. When it came to the form of the KM 3, the design department developed various models of the base plate, bowl, mixing arm and motor base that were combined with the technology until the first preproduction model, the wistar, emerged.
A brief story about the history of Braun household products.
A brief story about the history of Braun household products.
Today’s success of Braun’s household products is based on a company history full of excellent science and thoughtful development. We have brought together a few of Braun’s leading light creations, from the very beginning until today. Even more time travelling and a thrilling online experience awaits if you visit the Virtual Braun Museum. Visit the Museum
