Robert Staples
Design

Staples started his design career at the Office of Charles & Ray Eames while studying industrial design at the University of Southern California. Sixteen years, the aluminum group, airport seating, and numerous exhibitions later, he established S&C with Barbara Fahs Charles in Washington, DC. Staples was the senior designer on all S&C major exhibitions. Staples’ final project was the design and engineering of the new “Louis Kahn demountable walls” at the Yale Center for British Art. Staples died in 2021.

Barbara Charles
Interpretive Planning, Art Direction

Charles majored in history, made theatre costumes professionally, and then worked four years at the Office of Charles & Ray Eames, where she researched and developed content for exhibitions. At S&C, Charles led interpretive planning, graphics, and media coordination on all major projects. She continues this work as a consultant. Most recently, she assisted the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with their core exhibition and other projects.

The Staples & Charles Design Archives is available for research at American University Library Special Collections, Washington, DC.