Charles and Ray Eames are most famous for their iconic chairs, which transformed our idea of modern furniture, but this was merely one facet of their work. They were graphic and textile designers, architects and film-makers. If they’d confined their efforts to just one of these genres, we’d still be talking about them today. Yet they spread their talents far and wide, becoming two of the greatest designers of the 20th Century.

In 2018, it’ll be 40 years since Charles died, and 30 years since his beloved wife and creative partner Ray (born Bernice Kaiser) passed away. And their groundbreaking work remains as influential as ever, with a new exhibition at the Vitra Museum exploring the careers of this dynamic couple.

Charles and Ray Eames gained an international reputation with their furniture designs, which are displayed in the second area of the exhibition. They initially focused their efforts on plywood, exploring the limits of its capacity to be moulded into complex shapes. In the late 1940s, they began experimenting with the increasingly popular material of plastic, creating the legendary fibreglass chairs that soon became a common fixture in many households and public spaces. Over the following years, pieces that are now regarded as milestones of 20th-century furniture design were produced: for example, the Eames Lounge Chair, the Aluminium Group and the series of Wire Chairs and bases. The Eameses paid meticulous attention to every detail of their designs from start to finish, from the development process – which was pursued in close collaboration with the Herman Miller company and often spanned a period of several years – to the design of advertising photos, print materials and showrooms.

Sources: Charles and Ray Eames: The couple who shaped the way we live and Charles & Ray Eames. The Power of Design

Dieter Rams was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1932. He was strongly influenced by the presence of his grandfather who was a carpenter. Rams’s early awards for carpentry led to him training as an architect as Germany was rebuilt in the early 1950s.

Prompted by an eagle-eyed friend, Rams applied for a job at the German electrical products company, Braun, in 1955. He was recruited by Erwin and Artur Braun following the death of their father and his job was to modernise the interiors of the company that was launching revolutionary electrical products.

Rams became a protégé of the Ulm School of Design (successor to the Bauhaus) luminaries Hans Gugelot, Fritz Eichler and Otl Aicher.

He quickly became involved in product design – famously adding the clear perspex lid to the SK4 phonogram in 1956 – and was appointed head of design at Braun from 1961 to 1995.

Together with his design team, he was responsible for many of the seminal domestic electrical products – and some furniture – of the 20th century.

In 1976 Rams delivered a frank and prescient speech in New York. It was titled ‘Design by Vitsœ’ and in it he asserted his commitment to responsible design.

He drew attention to an “increasing and irreversible shortage of natural resources”. Believing that good design can only come from an understanding of people, Rams asked designers – indeed, everyone – to take more responsibility for the state of the world around them.

“I imagine our current situation will cause future generations to shudder at the thoughtlessness in the way in which we today fill our homes, our cities and our landscape with a chaos of assorted junk.”

Ever since, Rams has been an outspoken voice calling for “an end to the era of wastefulness” and to consider how we can continue to live on a planet with finite resources if we simply throw everything away.

Dieter Rams’s work has been widely exhibited worldwide via both touring and permanent exhibitions. He and his wife have established the Dieter and Ingeborg Rams Foundation to promote the views they hold so dear and to encourage all of us to live more serene and meaningful lives.

Source: Dieter Rams

It is said that as a child growing up in Copenhagen, Arne Jacobsen painted over the Victorian wallpaper in his bedroom. But young Arne did not cover his walls with typical childish drawings or paint the ornate wallpaper boyish blue. Instead, he decided to paint his room entirely white. His decision may seem commonplace today, but in the early twentieth century white walls were not yet in fashion. From the very beginning, Arne Jacobsen was ahead of his time. 

For more than half of the 20th century, Arne Jacobsen’s ideas shaped the landscape of Danish design, rippling out from Scandinavia to influence architects and designers around the world. He directed projects ranging from complex buildings such as Denmark’s National Bank to humble undertakings that included designing a teaspoon for his cutlery set. 

Working with a relatively small studio staff driven by an unquenchable desire to create, Jacobsen’s creative process centred on his strict consideration of detail. He brought his visions to life with meticulous, hand-painted watercolour sketches. In any given year, Jacobsen managed to design what others might produce in five.

Jacobsen is considered to be amongst the most influential architects and product designers of the 20th century.

Two of the standouts of Jacobsen’s prolific career are his Egg Chair and Swan Chair.

Even today, Jacobsen’s work manages to be historical, futuristic, and contemporary at the same time. He’s one of the reasons Scandinavian design is so popular these days.

Sources: Fritz Hansen and designwanted