Homage to the Eameses

It’s my first post since the end of my first semester at school, and I’m still figuring out how to transition the blog from the classroom assignment to something new. The fact is, I enjoyed writing this blog so much that I don’t think I’m going to change much at all. I will continue to read my daily blogs and other sources and post reviews and opinion on design-related things that I find interesting.

My latest project has me working on a chair for a logo, so naturally I gravitated towards two of my favorite designers, Charles and Ray Eames. I found a beautiful video of their creation on YouTube.

The music definitely gets kinda creepy – not sure why they chose that soundtrack – but the film is beautiful for a long-form advertisement/product demo. It’s also really enjoyable to see such a retro device look shiny and new in the video that introduced the technology to the world. Also timely since Polaroid is reintroducing the polaroid camera due to popular demand!

Charles and Ray Eames were a married design team that created painstakingly modern, useful and efficient designs. I drew their chairs while exploring ideas for my current project:

Their chairs were first introduced to the public through an exhibit at MOMA, and were afterwards mass produced for retail sales. They are ubiquitous designs now, but at the time were groundbreaking. They changed the face of the design world and to this day have a strong influence on graphic, industrial, and interior designers, not to mention artists, filmmakers and architects. Charles was trained as an architect and Ray as a painter.

One of the most intersting projects I’ve heard that the Eames were commissioned, through an Indian classmate, was the India Report in 1958. The Indian government invited the design duo to visit the country to analyze their design programs and suggest improvements. The report culminated with the creation of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad.

Published by Elizabeth Pizzuti

Design, art, and cats mostly

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