ECS Flyer

This flyer promotes Eames Contract Storage, or ECS, a system of modular furniture retailed by Herman Miller beginning in 1961. The ECS consisted of five wall-mounted units: three closets, a bed, and a desk. Speaking directly to “architects, designers and school administrators,” the flyer highlights the collection’s ability “to meet the extraordinary requirements of the dormitory”—in other words, it is well-suited to small living spaces. On one side of the flyer, architects are appealed to by using the visual vocabulary of architectural drawing, with the collection depicted in plan perspective on the top half of the page and in elevation below. Two figures appear in front of the elevation view; based on Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer’s studies of the human form, they lend both visual interest and a sense of scale to the drawings. On the other side, the ECS comes to life through photography. Some of the images show off the collection’s meticulous detailing, including polished aluminum handles, hanging bars, and plastic-coated shelves, while others depict the ECS in action, packed full of clothing and books, and populated by young men using the furniture for work and relaxation.