Book excerpt: Charles (1907-1978) and Ray (1912-1988) Eames are among the most important designers of the 20th century, and the story of the Eames Office is that of visual and material culture in the post-war, modern period. The World of Charles and Ray Eames charts the history of their inspiring and prolific world and brings together key works and ideas explored at the Eames Office throughout its extraordinary history.This definitive monograph explores the era-defining work of the Eames Office, a 'laboratory' active for over four decades, where the Eameses and their collaborators produced a vast array of pioneering and influential projects - from architecture, furniture and product design to film, photography, multi-media installation and exhibitions, as well as new models for arts education. Themes include 'The Eames Office: Life in Work', 'At Home with the Eameses', 'Information Machines', 'The Seeing Eye', 'Office USA: Communicating "America" at Home and Abroad', and 'The Art of Living'. Alongside newly commissioned texts by leading design experts, The World of Charles and Ray Eames will include contemporaneous reviews and magazine articles, writings by Charles and Ray Eames themselves, personal correspondence and a comprehensive reference section.