Rams describes design as a process of subtraction. His aim is to remove elements that do not serve a necessary purpose so that the essential qualities of a product can be more clearly understood. Simplicity, in this sense, is achieved through careful judgement rather than through making an object merely plain.

The full quotation links this reduction to qualities Rams valued in finished products: calmness, clarity, ease of understanding and durability. Removing the superfluous is therefore presented as a practical design method with consequences for both appearance and use.

The statement reflects Rams’s broader approach to product design, in which restraint helps prevent unnecessary complexity from competing with function. It suggests that a designer’s task is not only to decide what to add, but also to identify what can be removed without weakening the object’s purpose.

Full quotation

“I once said that my aim is to leave out everything superfluous in order to allow the essential to come through. The resulting form will be calm, pleasant, understandable and long-lived.”