Rams, a documentary about pioneering designer Dieter Rams

Gary Hustwit, director of Helvetica and Objectified, is making a documentary about Rams. 

For over fifty years, Dieter Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design and the world at large with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe. The objects Dieter has designed have touched the lives of millions of people––so many of us have had a Braun coffeemaker, shaver, stereo, calculator, speakers, or alarm clock. Or an Oral-B toothbrush. Or a Vitsoe 606 shelving system. Or any of the hundreds of other products Dieter has designed or overseen the design of.

His work has influenced the way most of today's consumer products look and function. The computer or phone you're reading this on looks the way it does because of Dieter Rams. Dieter's influence also extends to his "Ten Principles of Good Design," a list of edicts that champions simplicity, honesty, and restraint, and still applies to design theory and practice today.

The Arts Contribute More Than $760 Billion to the U.S. Economy

The National Endowment for the Arts: 

Produced by the BEA and NEA, the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACSPA) tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and nonprofit. The ACPSA reports on economic measures—value-added to gross domestic product (GDP) as well as employment and compensation. For the first time, the report also includes the arts impact on state economies as contributions to gross state product (GSP). The numbers in this report are from 2015, the most recent reporting year. 

The arts contributed $763.6 billion to the U.S. economy in 2015, 4.2 percent of GDP and counted 4.9 million workers, who earned $372 billion in total compensation.

• The arts added four times more to the U.S. economy than the agricultural sector and $200 billion more than transportation or warehousing.

• The arts saw a $20 billion trade surplus, leading with movies and TV programs and jewelry.

• The arts trended positively between 2012 and 2015 with an average growth rate of 2.6 percent, slightly higher than 2.4 percent for the nation’s overall economy. Between 2014 and 2015, the growth rate was 4.9 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars.

How much is 'smarter' worth?

Seth Godin: 

Smarter about the process, about the effects, about planning. Smarter about leadership, about management, about measurement.

How much is smarter worth?

In my experience, smarter is almost always a bargain, something you can buy for a lot less than it's worth.

At The Museum: Behind The Scenes At MoMA

See what it takes to run a modern museum in MoMA's documentary series, "At the Museum." Follow MoMA staff as exhibitions are designed, installed, and opened to the public. New episode premieres each Friday on YouTube.

As the Museum of Modern Art prepares to ship 200 masterworks by artists like Picasso, Cézanne, Rothko and de Kooning for a special exhibition at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, other MoMA staff begin to install a new line-up of exhibitions in New York.

MoMA curators Anne Umland and Starr Figura design a new exhibition of works by the artist Max Ernst. See what it takes to run a modern museum in our new documentary series: "At the Museum."

A number of decisions must be made quickly in advance of two exhibition openings, "Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait" and "Max Ernst: Beyond Painting." See what it takes to run a modern museum in our new documentary series: "At the Museum."

What does art say to you? MoMA staff and visitors reflect on the purposes of modern art-as an aide to clear your mind, symbols of societal change, or as abstract images that can form links between two complete strangers. See what it takes to run a modern museum in our new documentary series: "At the Museum."

Only four episodes left in our new documentary series, "At the Museum." See what's next in this week's sneak preview: MoMA curators recreate the 80's East Village scene with a little help from Club 57 regular Joey Arias, and artists Carolee Schneemann and Stephen Shore install two new comprehensive surveys of their work at MoMA and MoMA PS1.

The 70 Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time

From the Visual Effects Society.