Design Couples

Posted inDesigner Interviews
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By: Caitlin Dover | June 1, 2010

Think of famous couples in the fine arts, and only a few spring to mind, and Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz hardly inspire with their example. In fine art, artistic pairings usually begin and end with the lone genius and his muse.

With design, it’s different. Two of the most revered designers of all time, Charles and Ray Eames, were married, and their partnership was integral to their work and their mythology. More recently, Tibor and Maira Kalman (profiled in our June issue) set another enduring standard for tandem creativity at their firm M & Co.

As we considered whom we’d count among today’s brightest design stars, we found that quite a few come in pairs. Some just share a home and a calling; others share a workspace or even a business. We asked the following couples how their relationships impact their work, and vice versa, and learned a lot about what it means to do laundry, raise dogs, and feed children while you’re also drawing type or art directing a magazine.

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