Eames Iconic Dot Pattern
"The details are not details, they make the design" - Charles & Ray Eames
1. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE PATTERN
The Eames Classic Trays from Vitra adorn the characterful Dot Pattern which was developed in 1945-47 by Charles & Ray Eames for a printed textiles competition at the Museum of Modern Art. A 1950 article in Portfolio Magazine (Vol. 1 Issue 2) showed the preliminary Dot Pattern drawing adjacent to an image the Eameses took of the wire forms of the DCM, a dining chair made from two molded plywood forms attached to a metal system of legs and chair backing. The shadows of the chairs’ arrangement appeared on the white flooring in a configuration similar to the lines of the Dot Pattern. Since then the dot pattern has been used as a pattern for various accessories.
2. HOW THE PATTERN WIDELY USED IN TEXTILE AND MORE
The Dot Pattern textile was not realized in Charles and Ray’s lifetimes, but later through the Eames Office. Lucia Eames and Mary Murphy of Maharam resurrected the pattern from Ray’s original drawings and transformed into a cotton/polyester textile in 1999. Continuously since, it has been made into curtains, pillows, upholstery, tablecloths, purses, and more. In addition, American Airlines gifted millions of business class passengers with complimentary Eames Dot Pattern amenity pouches, designed in 2011.
3. TELL US ABOUT THE CLASSIC TRAY
The expansive oeuvre of Charles and Ray Eames not only encompasses product design, architecture, exhibition design, and cinematography but also includes a large number of graphic designs, most of which were created by Ray Eames. The Classic Trays, which are made of laminated plywood, come in assorted motifs created by Alexander Girard for various purposes and selected by Vitra in cooperation with the Girard family.
