Muriel Cooper (1925–1994) was an American designer, educator and researcher who charted new territory for design in the changing landscape of electronic communication.
Muriel Cooper. Photo by Marie Cosindas.
Cooper worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for most of her life—first as a freelancer in the publishing office and then co-founding the prominent MIT Media Lab. Cooper designed some of the most influential design publications in America, including Learning from Las Vegas, one of the key texts of postmodernist art critique.
MIT Press logo designed by Muriel Cooper, 1965.
In 1952, Muriel became the director of the MIT Office of Publications (now Design Services). She left in 1958 to travel on a Fulbright Scholarship in Milan, Italy. On her return to Boston, she opened her own studio, Muriel Cooper/Media Designer, and soon, MIT became her biggest client—especially after she designed the MIT Press logo. “I guess I'm never sure that print is truly linear,” Muriel Cooper said. “It's more a simultaneous medium. Designers know a lot about how to control perception, how to present information in some way that helps you find what you need, or what it is they think you need. Information is only useful when it can be understood.” Messages and Means was the first class Cooper taught at MIT, focused on design and communication for print. Her teaching integrated reproduction tools as part of the thinking process in a bid to reduce the gap between process and product.
The Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago survey designed by Muriel Cooper, 1969.
Messages and Means course poster, 1974. Design: Muriel Cooper and on MacNeil.
Ray and Charles Eames (1912–1988) were two of the most influential designers of the 20th Century.
Ray Eames.
The Eameses are best known for their iconic chairs, that transformed our idea of modern furniture. The couple worked in a life-long creative partnership, during which Ray was responsible for groundbreaking contributions to the fields of architecture, furniture and industrial design, as well as manufacturing and photography. “Anything I can do, Ray can do better,” Charles said.
Cover of April 1944 Art & Architecture magazine designed by Ray Eames.
In 1942–1948, Ray Eames designed twenty-six covers for the Los-Angeles-based periodical Arts & Architecture. The magazine wrote on contemporary art, architecture, music, and film. Ray’s cover designs are more than creative graphic expressions—they are unique works of art that reflect the times in which they were produced. In 1949, Ray Eames created several textile patterns, some of which were recognized in various competitions organized by MoMA. Two of her designs—Crosspatch and Sea Things—were produced by Schiffer Prints, a company that also produced textiles by Frank Lloyd Wright and Salvador Dali. The most complex of the molded plywood chairs created by the Eames, LaChaise, resembles a sculpture of a woman’s torso. Although it was submitted to the Museum of Modern Art’s International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design under Charles's name only, Ray had a large influence in shaping the curvaceous design.
Crosspatch textile design.
La Chaise. Photo courtesy of Vitra.