Symposium: Less and More – German Design Reconsidered

The exclusive evening symposium will bring together leading German and American creatives, design-orientated businesses as well as cultural and governmental representatives. The event will start with a keynote by Professor Klaus Klemp, Head of Exhibition at the Museum of Applied Art in Frankfurt and Co-curator of the exhibition “Less and More – The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams”, which will open at the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art the following day. Professor Klemp will share his knowledge about the legendary Braun Design Team – in particular Dieter Rams – who worked for Braun from 1955 to 1995 and was involved in the development of more than 500 products.

Following the presentation, leading German designers, who reside on the West Coast, will discuss German design in a panel format. Professor Klemp is joined by panelists Thomas Overthun – Associate Partner and Design Director at IDEO, Wilhelm Oehl – Partner at Eight Inc., Daniel Hundt – Creative Director at One & Co., Markus Diebel – Vice President of Design at Incase and Moni Wolf, Principal Design Director at Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business.

The panel will discuss a variety of questions including the current relevance of Dieter Rams’ ten design principles, whether German designers living and working in the US feel obligated to follow these principles and if these principles are the foundation for German design or good design per se. “It will be interesting to hear what our German panelists think about these questions. Are they influenced by Rams even if they were
educated in the US”, asks moderator Stefanie Then, Founder of GIN4B – German Internationals for Business. “And will they reveal their ingredients for successful design in today’s international markets?“

After the symposium, there will be an opportunity for networking and sharing ideas about business and design. The goal of the event is to stimulate the transatlantic exchange of information between creatives and design-orientated businesses and inspire participants to think about innovative business ideas. The event is a joint initiative of the Goethe-Institut San Francisco, the German Consulate General of San Francisco, the German American Chamber of Commerce and GIN4B (German Internationals for Business), and is sponsored by Incase.

Location: Goethe-Institut, 530 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Date: Friday, August 26, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Registration mandatory: RSVP to events-ca@gaccny.com
Participation: free
Questions: connect@gin4b.de