Charles and Ray | Eames Office Charles and Ray Eames are among the most important American designers of the 20th century. The Eameses are best known for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design and manufacturing, and the photographic arts. Charles Eames was born in 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri. Ray Kaiser Eames was born in 1912 in Sacramento, California. Charles and Ray married in 1941 and moved to California where they continued their furniture design work with molding plywood. In 1949, Charles and Ray designed and built their own home in Pacific Palisades, California, as part of the Case Study House Program sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine.
Dieter Rams - Design Museum As head of design at Braun, the German consumer electronics manufacturer, Dieter Rams (1932-) emerged as one of the most influential industrial designers of the late 20th century by defining an elegant, legible, yet rigorous visual language for its products. Formative Years Dieter Rams was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1932. As a teenager he loved to watch his grandfather who worked as a carpenter. Braun Founded in Frankfurt in 1921 by the engineer Max Braun, the company had soon gained a sound reputation for engineering and for developing new products, including electric shavers, kitchen utensils and the first combined radio and record player. Rams’ Early Days at Braun When he arrived at Braun, Rams applied his architectural skills to the design of exhibition sets and offices, but became increasingly interested in products. In 1956 Rams finally took part in the development of a product from beginning to end. Good design is innovative. Good design makes a product useful.