During the post war era in America were two designers – Charles and Ray Eames. Their work influenced the way design worked for ever. They were extremely eclectic and possessed a variety of skills and focal points – furniture design, architecture, films, books, lectures, exhibitions and so much more! Their work characterized America in the twentieth century and led many art movements. They mixed the ideas of modernism and the social culture at the time to create groundbreaking results. They favoured the idea of mass production and even worked their success around it.

Although their office was widely focused, it was Eames’ furniture design that stood out the most. The married couple combined their sets of skills and produced the first plywood molded chair. The design was created for The Organic Furniture Competition. It began as a single shell where the seat and backrest were one part. However, the plywood began to crack when curved and so after a lot of trial and error they came up with the solution of creating two separate pieces for the seat and backrest which were joined by a plywood spine and supported with plywood legs. This product stood out because it was made in an era where furniture was heavy, complicated, highly decorated and made using a variety of materials – often too much. This was in stark contrast to the Eames’ work where they focused on using fewer materials and techniques. It was a new way of looking at furniture and its design.

The 1945 plywood chair

A famous exhibition they undertook to design was ‘Mathematica’ for the California Museum of Science and Industry in 1961. It focused on the world of numbers and was one of the first of many science exhibitions the Eames’s and their office would design. The exhibition explored how mathematics shapes the world we live in, along with experimentation. The Eames’ understood this concept and so worked it into their design. They made it so it was interactive, fun and an educational experience where people could learn. The Eames’succeeded in showing the fun aspects of math and science to the broad range of audience, letting “the cat out of the bag,” as Charles said. As Chris said in the lecture; ‘For the Eames, the design process would be successful only by identifying the overlapping needs of client, society, and designer, and developing products that would serve all three.’ They succeeded in doing so in this exhibition as they focused on the guest and host relationship – it was interactive.

Mathematica Exhibition

They also designed their own home, which showed how they focused on problem solving and the need of the client. They didn’t try to stick to one style as they realised this could be limiting, and instead used a broad range. They took trips to gain inspiration, such as to the circus. They were fun and understood the importance of play and that creativity is beyond one discipline. Their design work is seen all around the world today – not just the work they made themselves, but also copies and designs which have been formed from their master skills.

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