Herman Miller

Introducing Eames Turned Stool in white oak—the first time the stool has ever been offered in a light finish. For anyone who has long admired the stool’s design but prefers the more contemporary look of a lighter wood, it’s a refresh that’s worth the wait. All four Eames shapes are now available in white oak, ebonized ash, and walnut: https://lnkd.in/gSyGidni Eames Office | Available from Herman Miller in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa. For Europe and the Middle East please contact Vitra.

It’s been 75 years since the Nelson Daybed was first introduced, and while the concept was not a new idea, George Nelson’s versatility in both form and use—a hallmark of his style—certainly was novel. Cushions are removable, you can sit or lie down, it works as well in a bedroom as it does an office, a living room—even a nursery. “Design is a response to social change,” he once said. The daybed is still in production today, a testament to Nelson’s talent for timeless design: https://lnkd.in/gffUicmn

George Nelson first met Herman Miller’s founder, D.J. De Pree, over dinner in November 1944. The two men couldn’t be a more unlikely pair: Nelson was a New Yorker who ordered ice-cold martinis; De Pree, a small town Midwesterner who drank tomato juice. De Pree knew Nelson by reputation via an article that Nelson had co-authored in Architectural Forum, all about his “Storagewall” design. From there, they forged a prolific partnership with Nelson as Herman Miller’s new director of design. George Nelson & Associates produced a stunning range of products over the firm’s 25-year tenure with Herman Miller: the pop-art Marshmallow Sofa, a not-so-basic cabinet series, a versatile daybed, bubble lamps, sexy sofas, the list goes on. And Nelson was instrumental in expanding the role of outside designers at the heart of the company (a tradition that his predecessor, Gilbert Rohde, had established). “I can’t have all the ideas,” he once said to De Pree. Nelson would introduce Herman Miller to Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, and Alexander Girard. “Herman Miller allowed designers to help shape its policies and direct its energies in a manner virtually unique in American industrial design,” he wrote in an introduction to the landmark 1975 Walker Art Center exhibition “Nelson, Eames, Girard, Propst: The Design Process at Herman Miller.” Nelson’s role as Herman Miller’s design director was just one of the many hats he wore professionally: architect, writer, teacher, amateur photographer, provocateur. He put into practice the idea that designers must cultivate a broad base of knowledge and understanding—or, as he put it “nothing more or less than relating everything to everything.” Learn more about George Nelson and the indelible mark he left on Herman Miller and modern design: https://lnkd.in/gVv4sm2D

The story of Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman is the story of molded plywood, which was a major material innovation of its time. Charles and Ray Eames pioneered the use of molded plywood in furniture in the 1940s and they did so by using an iterative process. As with many of their designs, which they revisited regularly, that spirit of innovation continued to shape the chair and ottoman. In her later years, Ray was concerned about the environmental impact of using Brazilian Rosewood, as well as fiberglass. In 1990, the Eames Office approved the usage of cherry and walnut veneer on Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and Herman Miller discontinued using rosewood. In 2006, Herman Miller began offering the chair in Santos Palisander, a sustainable alternative to rosewood. Now we also offer the chair in an upholstery derived from bamboo. “We’re using different materials in response to different things that are going on on the planet,” says Eames Demetrios, director of Eames Office and grandson of Charles and Ray Eames. “We’re not changing the chair. We’re just helping it be itself today.” Eames Office | Available from Herman Miller in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa. For Europe and the Middle East please contact Vitra.

Lance Wyman began his career working for George Nelson, soon after graduating from Pratt in 1960, but left the Nelson Office when he had the chance to design the identity for the Mexico ’68 Olympic Committee. For a designer, as well as for an athlete, the Olympics are the opportunity of a lifetime. Each sports event, each amenity needs clear wayfinding, and in a minimum of three languages.   Under the helm of well-known architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Wyman and the committee created a hierarchy of icons anyone could understand—rather than a sea of words. Nineteen pictures, one for each sport; 19 more for the cultural events; more still for restrooms, concessions, transportation. The graphics formed a pattern across the city, including a pictorial system for Mexico City’s metro.   Today, Wyman lives and practices in New York City, continuing to design identity and wayfinding systems for transportation and cultural projects. Wyman taught graphic design at Pratt Institute for over 40 years, and was awarded the prestigious AIGA Medal in 2017. Learn more about Wyman: https://lnkd.in/gy64qXGa Caption edited for clarity 7/29/24.

In honor of introducing the highly sustainable bamboo-based upholstery as an option for Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, we visited with Charles and Ray Eames’s grandchildren, Eames Demetrios of Eames Office and Llisa Demetrios of Eames Institute. They talk about what the iconic design means to them and the lasting impressions Charles and Ray left on them about the iterative nature of design, the role of hospitality, and what it takes to make an heirloom. Eames Office | Available from Herman Miller in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa. For Europe and the Middle East please contact Vitra.

In keeping with our longstanding focus on sustainability, we are, for the first time, introducing bamboo-based upholstery as an option on our Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Upholstering Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in material derived from bamboo helps us reduce the materials carbon footprint of the chair by up to 35 percent. Soft, durable, and more scratch resistant and colorfast than any other material, it has already been used in fashion and automotive design. We’re pleased to be able to bring its superior performance and lighter environmental footprint to this iconic design. Shop now: https://lnkd.in/gnTcM_Yv Eames Office | Available in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa from Herman Miller and from Vitra in Europe and the Middle East.

Herman Miller has always had a thing for ideas. Now we also have a magazine called Ideas, which showcases our new brand identity. Learn more from Kelsey Keith. Recording now available here: https://lnkd.in/eywqSNyv

Steve Cabella has been amassing Herman Miller vintage for decades. He has decked out his house (a William Wurster-designed home on the edge of the San Francisco Bay in Point Richmond) in midcentury gems from his personal archive: Eames, Nelson, Girard. His reverence for the designers is palpable, for the products unequivocal. “Authenticity is a kind of respect,” Cabella says. Get to know Cabella and see his home at Ideas magazine. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/gEWqscg6 Photography by Mariko Reed

Hurra! Fuld Nesting Chair, designed by Munich-based Stefan Diez, just won the prestigious "Red Dot: Best of the Best" Red Dot Design Award for Product Design—the international design competition’s top distinction within the office chairs category. Forty international experts tested and evaluated each entry individually, scoring designs on four qualities: function, aesthetic, ease of use, and responsibility. Introduced in 2023, Fuld has a sleek, minimalist design and pioneering one-piece construction where the back rest, arms and back legs are one continuous piece. In celebration of the achievement, Fuld Nesting Chair will be on display at Red Dot Design Museum Essen and featured in the Red Dot Design Yearbook. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/giv_UGYM