Charles and Ray Eames
The practical life of much product design is, by definition, limited; there is not much call for streamlined locomotives, Kodak Brownies, or Selectric typewriters today. On the other hand, sitting furniture is always useful, and none more so than the molded plastic Eames side chair (left). Designed in 1948 and still in production, Eames chairs grace many a Richard Rogers and Norman Foster interior. The work of the husband and wife team of Charles (1907-78) and Ray (1912-88) Eames remains in many ways the most durable trace of the great epoch of American industrial design. They were not as prolific as some of their contemporaries, and their exhibitions (many for IBM) were ephemeral, but their films survive, and their iconic furniture, such as molded plywood chairs, task chairs, and the exceptional leather lounge chair and ottoman, remain as popular as ever. There is something both intelligent and cheerful about an artless Eames design. The pair got their own series of stamps in 2008; the graphic designer was Derry Noyes, Eliot Noyes’s daughter.