1959

In the spring of 1959 I graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis,

a newly minted designer with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.

I gained employment at Monsanto,

paying my dues by doing paste

ups for labels for things like 2,4,5-T

(Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), which, within

a few years, gained fame when it became

broadly known as Agent Orange. My labels!

 

1960

 

After a few short months the elation

I felt as a young designer in the bosom

of an important corporation, turned to a sense of

misgiving. Fueled by strictures described as

"Corporate Identity", I was becoming a

singer with an one octave range.

My work: defined by sans serif typefaces.

Bodoni, no... Caslon, never! Unhappily constrained...

silly... and imagining a life without cherished Baskerville,

 I idealistically tendered my letter of resignation.

 

1961

 

Unfettered, and with boundless faith in the future,

 I began offering graphic design services to the

St. Louis professional, commercial and institutional

communities. I quickly opened a small studio. hanging

my shingle on a shingle clad two car garage in

Clayton, Missouri. It flourished. I designed all

all manner of things and I drew... lots.

Yin: cards for Hallmark... Yang: cartoons for Playboy.

I consulted with architects. Life was good.

 

1964

 

Led by Robert Moses, New Yorkers organized a

Grand Exposition, a Worlds Fair titled

"Peace through Understanding", to be held

over two summers time at Flushing Meadows,

just beyond LaGuardia Airport. IBM commissioned

a Pavilion, to be designed by Eero Saarinen,

with exhibits and film by The Office of Charles Eames.

Early in 1964, as Charles said, "the train was

leaving the station", I locked my studio door and,

with invitation in hand, went to Venice, California

to join the Eames Office to help as I might

in the charette leading to completion of the work.

In late April the Fair opened. In early May, back in St. Louis, I

unlocked my studio door and, changed forever,

resumed my practice. I was soon consulting

with the still nascent HOK.

 

I joined the firm the following year.

 

2005

 

Given the firm's "mandatory" requirements,

Social Security eligibility, a cache of well over

three million frequent flier miles, and

boundless faith in the future,I retired from HOK...

but not from creative endeavor.

 

I hung out my old shingle

on my new shingle-clad studio

which sits upon a wooded hillside, beside a stream

 near a fountain and a garden,

where I continue to do what I do best:

think about  better ways of doing things,

 design stuff and draw and make art.

 

Life is Good.

 

The Office of Charles P. Reay is open!

 

 

 

Nota Bene: Several projects shown in this website

were designed during the time I was employed

at Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

More recently, some projects have been

completed in collaboration with HOK

while most have been executed solely by

the Office of Charles P. Reay LLC.