Details make the design
The details are not the details. They make the design. ―Charles Eames
I posted a while ago about the difference between Helvetica and Areal-that one just looks right and the other doesn't. The differences are subtle, but they make the design.
Here's a similar example: Not all molded-fiberglass chars are the Eames molded fiberglass chair.
If you've ever been to a lecture at RPI, you have probably been to the Darren Communications Center (DCC), at the middle of campus, where all huge courses are taught, including the 500-yellow-seat DCC 308:
Photo: Chris Tengi
I've always thought this sea of yellow fiberglass looked horribly dated and institutional:
Photo: smfny
I just put my finger on it: It wishes it were this:
Photo: Me
As it is, it looks like it's this:
The original has minimal flange around the edge, a curved seat, removing unnecessary corners, a deep seat, that essentially melts side gussets into the seat/back, and an elegant back that flexes gently.
The impostor basically has a rectangular seat and rectangular back with the back held up by a thick flange that makes the chair relatively rigid, but also prone to cracking (as anyone who's seen them knows).
Eames wasn't kidding. The details make the design. Here's what his wife and his design looks like in an auditorium setting:
Renderings: Herman Miller
It will always be Modern, but by getting the details just right, it is still contemporary (if not clichéd).
I posted a while ago about the difference between Helvetica and Areal-that one just looks right and the other doesn't. The differences are subtle, but they make the design.
Here's a similar example: Not all molded-fiberglass chars are the Eames molded fiberglass chair.
If you've ever been to a lecture at RPI, you have probably been to the Darren Communications Center (DCC), at the middle of campus, where all huge courses are taught, including the 500-yellow-seat DCC 308:
Photo: Chris Tengi
I've always thought this sea of yellow fiberglass looked horribly dated and institutional:
Photo: smfny
I just put my finger on it: It wishes it were this:
Photo: Me
As it is, it looks like it's this:
The original has minimal flange around the edge, a curved seat, removing unnecessary corners, a deep seat, that essentially melts side gussets into the seat/back, and an elegant back that flexes gently.
The impostor basically has a rectangular seat and rectangular back with the back held up by a thick flange that makes the chair relatively rigid, but also prone to cracking (as anyone who's seen them knows).
Eames wasn't kidding. The details make the design. Here's what his wife and his design looks like in an auditorium setting:
Renderings: Herman Miller
It will always be Modern, but by getting the details just right, it is still contemporary (if not clichéd).