The Eames Fiberglass Armchair was first designed by Charles and Ray Eames for the Museum of Modern Arts’ International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design in 1948. After WWII there was a nationwide call for simple, low-cost housing and furniture. This call motivated the modern design movement in the mid-20th century. Herman Miller led this movement to design furniture that thrives in its functionality, which explains why it is still so popular and stylish. How could something purely functional ever go out of style? The Eames responded to the call by designing Herman Miller’s most cost-efficient chair, pictured above. It was notable for its form: one piece of unupholstered fiberglass or plastic mounted on the “Eiffel Tower” leg design. Herman Miller started manufacturing them in 1950 in dozens of colors, and it is still manufactured today as one of their most popular products.
Before the cubicle, offices in the first half of the 20th century were designed as a large room full of desks. All desks faced the same way, neatly lined in rows to maximize space. Nothing separated fellow employees, or gave them their own space until Robert Propst designed the cubicle for Herman Miller in 1958. Propst named his cubicle design “Action Office.” It was widely released in 1967, but its first use was in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1963 to increase efficiency in a small work space. The functional design allowed the individual employee to design their own workspace, have privacy, and concentrate on their task. By 2005 the “Action Office” had gained $5 billion in sales for Herman Miller.
After the success of their fiberglass chair design, the Eames’ designed dozens of other pieces of furniture for Herman Miller, most notably the Eames Lounge Chair. After the wood-molding process was perfected shortly after WWII, Charles and Ray Eames designed their first chair and ottoman for a high-end market. The Lounge Chair was their first design that was not affordable or easy to mass-produce. They combined the molded wood with high quality leather to make this approachable piece. The chair is luxurious, made for life, and possibly Herman Miller’s most iconic design from their most prolific years. Ray Eames called the chair “comfortable and un-designy.” The gold standard for modern design.
In 1952, Director of Design, George Nelson, was inspired by silk-cover Swedish lamps that were very expensive and difficult to make. In classic Herman Miller fashion, Nelson redesigned them to include an easily mass-produced wire cage and a thin plastic cover to produce a simple lamp with a soft glow. The simple design is not distracted by unnecessary flair or print. Functionality is its design.
Isamu Noguchi’s iconic coffee table was originally commissioned by A. Conger Goodyear, president of the Museum of Modern Art, in 1938 for his home. It includes two identical sculpted pieces of walnut supporting a large sheet of glass. Herman Miller saw the table and hired Noguchi as a designer on the merit of his table alone. They mass-produced the table for use in either a home or workspace. Herman Miller calls the table “a perfect balance of art and design.”
Ethan Hohn
Staff Member