Modularity and multipurpose design

George Nelson was a noted teacher and writer, as well as a designer. He studied architecture in Rome and became an influential editor of Architectural Forum while continuing to design furniture that was based on the modern European designs with which he had become familiar.

Nelson becomes our director of design
In 1944, Nelson introduced the idea of Storagewall, the first modular storage system. It was widely derided by the furniture industry, but our founder, D.J. De Pree, was impressed and intrigued after reading an article about Nelson's Storagewall in Life magazine. D.J. went to New York to meet Nelson in person and convince him to become Herman Miller's director of design. Nelson was equally impressed and intrigued with D.J., and Nelson agreed to the new job.

It was meant to discourage long sitting
Nelson continued to maintain his independent design studio while helping move Herman Miller toward contemporary furniture that fit modern post-war lifestyles and homes. He created the first version of the platform bench for his own New York office. The idea behind the design was that sitting on a slatted bench would discourage visitors from staying too long. It was one of the few George Nelson design concepts that failed. Visitors found the bench comfortable, and it drove no one away. In 1946, the bench became part of Nelson's first collection for Herman Miller.

An Official Herman Miller Retailer

We're an authorized Herman Miller retailer. This means we're official. We sell new factory-direct Eames chairs complete with Herman Miller's own 5-year warranty. You can purchase confidently from Office Designs knowing you'll be receiving genuine Herman Miller product.

About the Manufacturer: Herman Miller

Founded in 1923 and recognized today throughout the world as an innovator in office and residential furniture design, Herman Miller has been ranked since 1986 among the top ten in Fortune Magazine’s annual list of the 500 most admired companies. Their pioneering research into producing environmentally responsible furniture has earned them GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality certification for most of their products. Aesthetically, many of Herman Miller’s iconic designs, particularly from the 1940s and 1950s, are valuable collector’s items and on permanent display in museums such as the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1933, new furniture designs created by Herman Miller designer Gilbert Rohde exhibiting the smooth lines and unembellished shapes of the emerging mid-century modern furniture style were exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair. In 1944, Rohde’s successor George Nelson designed such enduring icons as the Platform bench, and was famously responsible for teaming the company with such influential design artists as Alexander Girard, Isamu Noguchi and Charles and Ray Eames. Charles Eames, widely regarded as a genius in contemporary furniture design, produced one of Herman Miller’s most successful products in 1956, the elegant Eames Lounge chair. In 1994, Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf introduced a new office chair called Aeron (derived from the word aeration, which describes how the mesh suspension promotes comfort), which became an immediate worldwide success and earned a spot in the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as well. Today, Herman Miller continues to attract world-famous designers like Jeff Weber, Jerome Caruso, the Studio 7.5 Design Team in Berlin, Yves Behar, Mark Goetz and many more.

If the purpose of design is to solve problems, and the relationship between design and business is synergistic, then Herman Miller today continues to be in the vanguard of design as a fundamental part of strategic planning.