On September 14, 2025, the exhibition Less, but better: Dieter Rams' first exhibition in China, jointly organized by Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation, the School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Dieter Rams Foundation, and Beijing Design Week, will officially open at the fourth-floor gallery of the School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. This is one of the key projects of this year's Beijing Design Week, and also the first large-scale exhibition in China by the epoch-making German industrial design master Dieter Rams, serving as the first stop of his Asia tour.
At 93 years old, Dieter Rams, hailed as the "Father of German industrial design," is one of the most influential design masters of the latter half of the 20th century. As early as the 1970s, he proposed the "Ten Principles of Good Design," asserting that good design is innovative, useful, aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive, honest, durable, attentive to detail, environmentally friendly, and as little design as possible but better. These principles not only established criteria for evaluating good design but also set a benchmark for sustainable design for future generations. This exhibition takes his motto "Less, but better" as its theme, continuing his design credo while also serving as an important value compass in contemporary explorations of sustainable development and lifestyles.
Guided by Dieter Rams' philosophy, Less, but better: Dieter Rams' first exhibition in China is co-curated by Klaus Klemp, Executive Director of the Dieter Rams Foundation, and Cui Qiao, Chairperson of the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation. The exhibition systematically presents over half a century of Dieter Rams' design philosophy and creative trajectory. It will feature numerous rare design works, manuscripts, photographs, and video materials, with two specially curated sections: Ingeborg Rams Photography and Braun Clocks and Calculators, offering Chinese audiences a glimpse into the master's unique design world and lifestyle philosophy.
The exhibition is also supported by the Goethe-Institut China, Deutsche Vertretungen in China, Gestalten Verlag, Beijing Science and Technology Press, and Guangdong People's Publishing House. As one of the main initiators, the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation hopes to use this exhibition to connect Dieter Rams' philosophy with contemporary topics such as "sustainable design," "youth talent development," and "international cooperation," making it not only a design retrospective but also a public discussion on future lifestyles.
▲ Scan the QR code to book free admission
○ Exhibition information
• Exhibition title: Less, but better: Dieter Rams' first exhibition in China
• Exhibition dates: September 14 – October 8, 2025 (9:30–17:30, closed on Mondays)
• Venue: Beijing | Fourth-floor gallery, School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts
(Please enter through the north gate of the university; see the map below for directions ↓)
• Curators: Klaus Klemp, Cui Qiao
• Co-organizers: Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation, Dieter Rams Foundation, Beijing Design Week, School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts
• Supported by: Goethe-Institut China, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in China, Gestalten Verlag, Beijing Science and Technology Press, Guangdong People's Publishing House
• Admission: Free (please scan the poster QR code to reserve your visiting time in advance through the Central Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum mini-program)
▲ Scan the QR code to book free admission
Translator: ZHANG Xinni
Reviewer: ZHANG Yifan
