Eames Book Design
Category
Editorial
Client
University of Dayton
Role
Lead Designer
Research & Discovery
I started with the Eames Office archives, not a mood board.
Before making a single layout decision, I spent time in the Eames Office archives, pouring over photography, sketches, and personal writings that showed how Ray and Charles actually worked, not just what they produced. That research shaped every visual decision that followed, from color to layout compositions to photography style
The grid started with a house, not a spreadsheet.
I was directly inspired by the striking glass facade of the Eames House in the Pacific Palisades. That clean, repeating structure of steel and glass became the foundation for the book's own gridded layout.
Typography & Layout
A system built on contrast, just like their work.
The typography pairs old-style serif and geometric sans-serif type to create the same kind of contrast the Eames' brought to their furniture, juxtaposing warmth against precision, tradition against invention. That contrast carries through the book's grid system, which stays structured enough to organize dense content, but flexible enough to let bold, editorial-style photography breathe.
Content & Structure
Designing around the story, not around myself.
The book's content and structure were provided as part of the project brief, which meant my role was to shape how that material moved. That meant prioritizing pacing image-heavy spreads against text-heavy ones, and building a system flexible enough to hold both without losing rhythm.
Outcome & Final Art
Every page traces back to the world the Eames' built.
Their signature color palettes, the sculptural curvature of their furniture, and their belief that form should always follow function is woven throughout. Here's a closer look at where it landed.
