Dieter Rams Awarded WDO World Desgin Medal 2025

Since 2017, the World Design Organization has presented the World Design Medal to individuals who have made a decisive contribution to the advancement of industrial design. The first recipients were industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger  (2017) and Universal Design co-founder Dr. Patricia Moore(2022). Dieter Rams, an honorary member of the German Design Council – Stiftung Rat für Formgebung since 2002 and its president from 1987 to 1998, embodies the power of design excellence and international collaboration. For more than three decades, as Head of Design at Braun, he shaped an approach that combined clarity, functionality and longevity. His “Ten Principles for Good Design” remain influential to this day, guiding new generations and demonstrating how design can drive products, companies and societies forward.

The award ceremony took place at London’s Barbican Centre before an audience of more than 1,000. Prof Dr Klaus Klemp, Managing Director of the Dieter and Ingeborg Rams foundation,, accepted the medal on Rams’ behalf. “Few designers have left such an indelible mark as Dieter Rams. His unwavering and long-standing commitment to design integrity has shaped not only the objects around us, but also the values of our profession,” emphasised WDO President Thomas Garvey in his tribute.

As a founding member of the World Design Organization, the German Design Council is committed to advancing industrial design as a catalyst for better products, services, societies and living environments worldwide. In the context of the congress theme “Design for Planet”, the award gains particular resonance: it underlines how design embraces social responsibility and points towards solutions for ecological as well as social challenges.