Charles and Ray Eames, the husband and wife duo, left an indelible mark on furniture design and modern architecture. Their work has been highly regarded for its invention and regard for the principles of modernism. This TEDx Talk, delivered by their grandson Eames Demetrios, humanizes these idolized designers - bringing family, and their early struggles as designers to the forefront of the conversation.With a collection of rarely seen footage, the TEDx Talk reveals Charles and Ray's relationship and life prior to designing the famous Eames Chair.
More after the break.
Demetrios sums up the purpose of his talk when he says that the Eames duo had a "holistic view of design". What better way to honor this principle than to demonstrate the holistic life experiences of the couple in their relationship to their children and grandchildren, in their activities before their design professions launched, and in their extracurricular interests that often go unnoticed in history books.
As for the design process, Demetrios discusses the design choices that led to the design of the Eames Chair - the iterative style in which Charles and Ray worked to develop a model that worked optimally for functionality, production and aesthetics. The chair was first debuted at the Museum of Modern Art. NBC paid homage to the debut of the design team and the furniture in 1956. Watch the videos below for more.
The Eames Chair is still in production today, with minor tweaks in the design of certain components and a more mechanized process. Check out FastCo Design for a look at the production process.
