Rams presents simplicity as a deliberate response to the complexity of the modern built environment. In designing door handles, his aim was not to add another visually assertive object, but to make something clear, restrained and easy to understand within an already crowded setting.

The quotation reflects his wider belief that design should reduce unnecessary complexity rather than contribute to it. Simplicity, in this sense, is not merely an aesthetic preference. It is a way of creating order and making everyday objects less intrusive in people’s surroundings.

By describing the living environment as complex and polymorphic, Rams places individual products within a broader visual context. His approach suggests that designers should consider not only the object itself, but also how it contributes to the overall character of the spaces in which people live and work.