Braun - Fifty Years of Design and Innovation

Bernd Polster, Publizist aus Bonn, schreibt u. a. für Magazine wie GEO und ist Autor zahlreicher Bücher zu kulturgeschichtlichen Themen.

Braun products have been shown more frequentlyat exhibitions than those of any other comparablecompany. Some people find that they reflectbasic human values such as authenticity and integrity.For others, they are the very incarnationof German perfectionism. Braun is not merely atrademark; it stands for an all encompassing concept.For the last five decades, this concept hasspawned innovative products with an unprecedentedregularity that begs to be explained - especiallyas the era spanned by the history ofBraun design is not exactly one characterized bycontinuity. Instead, the second half of the 20thcentury witnessed a dramatic change in livingconditions. Prosperity and greater ease enteredour daily lives, but also widespread disorientationand alienation. It is to the credit of those whoset the Braun design project in motion that theywere able to counteract this feeling of alienation -which manifested itself to them not least in poorlydesigned objects of daily use - with a vision ofdesign reform. There had already been attemptsmade along these lines. What was new was thata commercial enterprise spearheaded the movement.Also new was the systematic approach, theapplication of design principles to modern productsand the innovative dynamic thus triggered.Finally, the considerable commercial success thisdesign project enjoyed was likewise a revelation.All of this led the company to establish a designdepartment that was not merely an appendage,but rather an active decision-maker in the developmentof products from the initial idea to realization.This is how Braun and design became synonymous.Bernd Polster is one of the best-known Germandesign authors. Nearly all of his books have beentranslated into other languages as well. His mostrecent publications are German Design for ModernLiving (2008) und bauhaus design (2009). Duringhis university studies Polster tried to learn dialecticalthinking from philosopher Leo Kofler. He subsequentlytraded promising careers as centre forward,artist and psychologist for books on culturalhistory and journalistic reporting.

Braun products have been shown more frequently at exhibitions than those of any other comparable company. Some people find that they reflect basic human values such as authenticity and integrity. For others, they are the very incarnation of German perfectionism. Braun is not merely a trademark, it stands for an allencompassing concept. For the last five decades, this concept has spawned innovative products with an unprecedented regularity that begs to be explained - especially as the era spanned by the history of Braun Design is not exactly one characterized by continuity. The second half of the 20th century witnessed a dramatic change in living conditions. Prosperity and greater ease entered our daily lives, but also widespread disorientation and alienation. It is to the credit of those who set the Braun Design project in motion that they were able to counteract this feeling of alienation - which manifested itself to them not least in poorly designed objects of daily use - with a vision of design reform. There had already been attempts made along these lines. What was new was that a commercial enterprise spearheaded the movement. Also new was the systematic approach, the application of design principles to modern products and the innovative dynamic thus triggered. Finally, the considerable commercial success this design project enjoyed was likewise a revelation. All of this led the company to establish a design department that was not merely an appendage, but rather an active decision-maker in the development of products from the initial idea to realization. This is how Braun and design became synonymous.
Bernd Polster is one of the best-known German design authors. Nearly all of his books have been translated into other languages as well. His most recent publications are German Design for Modern Living (2008) und bauhaus design (2009). During his university studies Polster tried to learn dialectical thinking from philosopher Leo Kofler. Braun products have been shown more frequently at exhibitions than those of any other comparable company. Some people find that they reflect basic human values such as authenticity and integrity. For others, they are the very incarnation of German perfectionism. Braun is not merely a trademark, it stands for an allencompassing concept. For the last five decades, this concept has spawned innovative products with an unprecedented regularity that begs to be explained - especially as the era spanned by the history of Braun Design is not exactly one characterized by continuity. The second half of the 20th century witnessed a dramatic change in living conditions. Prosperity and greater ease entered our daily lives, but also widespread disorientation and alienation. It is to the credit of those who set the Braun Design project in motion that they were able to counteract this feeling of alienation - which manifested itself to them not least in poorly designed objects of daily use - with a vision of design reform. There had already been attempts made along these lines. What was new was that a commercial enterprise spearheaded the movement. Also new was the systematic approach, the application of design principles to modern products and the innovative dynamic thus triggered. Finally, the considerable commercial success this design project enjoyed was likewise a revelation. All of this led the company to establish a design department that was not merely an appendage, but rather an active decision-maker in the development of products from the initial idea to realization. This is how Braun and design became synonymous.

Bernd Polster is one of the best-known German design authors. Nearly all of his books have been translated into other languages as well. His most recent publications are German Design for Modern Living (2008) und bauhaus design (2009). During his university studies Polster tried to learn dialectical thinking from philosopher Leo Kofler.