The relationship between Charles and Ray Eames seems to be related to the technical and emotional elements of design they excelled in. The two are fundamental to good design. It must be pragmatic, but it also must evoke a feeling in order to be great. The Eames furniture designs excelled in both areas.

In the years following the war there was no money to spare for decadence. This challenge was one of the core motives for the Eames product range: “The best for the most for the least”. The Eames design office achieved this end by focusing the design process around an accurate understanding of the problem to be solved and the tools they were using. One of the earliest examples of this process in action was the LCW chair designed in 1944. the form of the original Eames chair displays simple structural elements in a very organic way. Despite being made from a utilitarian material, the chair appears to be both comfortable and sturdy at the same time.  The striking geometric chair legs evoke a feeling of balance and permanence, supporting the angular spine, and curved seat and backrest. Those parts of the chair that are in contact with the user have a form reminiscent of the loose, 3 dimensional curves of broad leaves and give the chair a naturally inviting look. The theme of the chair is industry joined with nature, represented by simple and dynamic forms. This theme is repeated in the material used. Plywood is a technical redesign of wood. The properties of the natural material have been analysed and understood, and the material has been adapted for industry with the use of technology.  The LCW chair is pure pragmatism, designed in a time when materials and tools were scarce, but it’s foundational theme can be seen throughout a huge range of colourful and evocative furniture. The Colours and materials used promoted a comfortable and energetic atmosphere that helped to define culture and lift spirits in America and around the world after the war.

The key to the success of the Eames designs is their deep understanding of the problem to be solved. They saw knowledge as a crucial part of the design process. This urge to learn and explore manifested itself at all stages of the design process, for example the Eames’s research for the plywood chair involved measuring the dimensions and postures of people and recording and analysing the information using grids. Although the new plywood technology was revolutionary, it was the Eames understanding of the human form and its mechanics that made it comfortable and stable. The making of the object was also part of the learning process. The Eames would make hundreds of models and prototypes to understand the capabilities of their chosen material, and through this they would understand how their physical creations related to the conceptual solution. The Eames design process contrasted many pre ww1 approaches. New production techniques had already had a huge impact on the furniture industry in the U.S since cabinet makers like Duncan Phyfe started running factories full of furniture builders, but the solid wood that they were using can be a fickle material and can never be relied on for consistency or uniformity. The new plywood that the Eames were working with was however perfect for mass production, and the Eames were aware of this while designing the chair. The LCW chair makes use of plywood’s ability to take fluid forms when pressed in hot dies and replaces many of the time-consuming structural elements of traditional chair designs with a few simple and organic surfaces. The Eames’s knowledge and understanding acted as foundations on which they could experiment with ideas and express their own perception of life while still excelling in functionality. Their furniture gave shape to a vision of the future of America.