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In this video we will take a look at some great designers of the past and present. This video includes; Charles & Ray Eames, Herb Lubalin and Paul Rand.
In this video, we'll take a look at some designers and how their work still impacts us to this very day.
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Know that all of these mediums are a little bit different.
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Whether it be architecture, print, or film,
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simply pay attention to the solutions they've designed and created.
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First up, we have Charles and Ray Eames.
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Charles and Ray Eames' main focus was architecture and furniture.
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They also ventured into industrial design and graphic design, fine arts and film, as well.
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They were American designers in the early 1900s.
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Charles and Ray Eames are so noteworthy in the design industry
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because they were so impactful on modern America through so many mediums.
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They were a team of husband and wife.
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They worked vigorously side-by-side throughout their careers
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to find the best possible solutions for any given task.
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Here are a couple of their masterpieces.
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The Eames house is a case-study house designed by both Charles and Ray.
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They wanted to design a house that fit within its environment
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and had the functional use of an office and home.
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The house is constructed of glass and steel.
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This home and work space is the epitome of the definition of design.
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It was strategically designed to solve the task at hand—
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create a home and office in one.
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This is the first time an architectural design like this has ever been completed with such effectiveness.
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The structure still stands to this day.
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Their next project I'd like to talk about is the "Powers of Ten."
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The Eames couple pioneered the zoom effect
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we still see today in movies.
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If you have ever seen a space view zooming into earth,
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like Google Maps,
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it was probably because of the film, "Powers of Ten."
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The film was commissioned by IBM in 1977.
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The idea was to explain how large the universe is;
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then, zooming in by using the powers of 10 until we end up on a single proton—
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a very effective representation of size from the universe all the way down to molecular structures.
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The next Eames project, which their most known for, is the Eames lounge chair.
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Charles and Ray designed many collections of furniture for Herman Miller.
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They pioneered the process of chair making with their early work, using the molded plywood process,
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as you can see here, in the Eames lounger and ottoman.
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They also experimented and perfected the process of fiberglass and resin-molded chairs.
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Charles Eames said it best, "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a specific purpose."
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Our next designer is Herb Lubalin.
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Herb Lubalin is an American graphic designer.
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He was born in 1918.
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Herb collaborated on 3 Ginzburg magazines—
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the "Eros,""Fact," and "Avant Garde."
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He was responsible for the beauty and aesthetics of these publications.
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Most notably, Herb is responsible for an art deco type face called avant garde.
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The work that Herb did is best described as meaning through type.
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He emphasizes the message through beautiful type lockups and layouts.
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Herb did not think of himself as a typographer
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but more of a message designer by using characters or the master of typographics.
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He changed our perception on typography through his exploration of typographics.
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He gave type life and meaning.
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He personified every phrase with a human emotion.
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He created successful solutions and gave copy purpose.
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Next up, one my favorites—Paul Rand.
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Paul Rand is an American graphic designer.
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Born in 1914, Paul Rand is best known for his corporate design work.
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He has created brand identities for major corporations such as Apple, IBM, Enron, ABC, and UPS—to just name a few.
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Rand began designing page layouts in the 1950s,
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and in the 1960s, he single-handedly convinced corporate America
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that great design is a valuable and must-have tool.
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He's the one that substituted project pricing rather than hourly pricing.
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He coined the word jewel, which we better know today as mark.
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This is the iconic standalone symbol which encompasses a brand.
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Rand's design theories were very simple and straight to the point.
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Here's a couple quotes from Paul Rand.
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"Don't try to be original, just try to be good."
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"Design is the method of putting form and content together."
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"Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition."
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"Design can be art, design can be aesthetics."
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"Design is so simple, that's why it's so complicated."
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"Simplicity is not the goal, it's the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations."
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