Rams came of age in Germany after second World War and was trained as an architect. Braun initially hired him, two years after he had graduated, as an in-house architect, but he quickly became involved in the development of new appliances and was tapped to head the entire design department. Rams had two striking influences outside his formal education. His grandfather, whom he worked with as a child, was a furniture-maker who hand-crafted simple, traditional pieces from select woods. And his father, a more distant presence, was an electrical engineer who traveled the country supervising the installation of radio antennae. It’s easy to see the fusion of craft and technology in Rams’ work. His team used rigorous manufacturing and prototyping methods, and incorporated innovative materials like clear acrylic. The postwar environment left Rams especially open to international and modern influences. Like others of his generation, he was hopeful that good design could create better lives for all.
     Unlike many gifted designers, Rams flourished within a corporate environment. He created and managed the product design department at Braun and oversaw the roll-out of more than 500 original products. His work was instrumental in building the family company into a international brand, and in shaping its indelible design identity. And Rams was able to execute progressive designs within the extraordinary constraints of mass fabrication, shipping and marketing.