Archinect - News

Herman Miller debuts new modernist rebrand for 2024

2024-01-04T17:10:00-05:00

Herman Miller is heading into the new year with a changed branding identity inspired by its namesake founder’s 1960s-era experimentations with the Helvetica typeface, delivered by the Brooklyn-based design agency Order.

The move comes a year after Herman Miller’s 100th anniversary was celebrated with special exhibitions, a retrospective publication, and other programming. The prolific furniture maker’s signature ‘M’ logographic design from Irving Harper was preserved in the rebrand. The company says it is hopeful the refresh will help guide its next century of creative excellence.

“The last brand identity served Herman Miller well for 25 years, but that system predated many of the touchpoints we now have with the Herman Miller customer,” Herman Miller Creative Director Kelsey Keith recently detailed in It’s Nice That. “What we needed was an evolution of the brand, and a complete design system, one that could flex from a mobile phone screen to a physical space and everywhere in betwe...

Pensole Lewis College and PepsiCo launch partnership for design diversity with innovative student lounge project

2023-04-05T08:56:00-04:00

PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, the first and only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) dedicated to design, are marking the first step in their three-year partnership to develop Black designers and increase representation in the design industry with a program tasking students to create a new student lounge on campus.

Previously on Archinect: A formerly closed HBCU in Detroit is reopening as a design school thanks to an industry leader

Together, PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis aim to address the diversity gap in the design industry by providing students with access to mentorship, apprenticeships, and job opportunities.

Designers from the PepsiCo Design & Innovation team and MillerKnoll mentored Pensole Lewis students through the design process. The winning concept will be brought to life this summer. In addition, NBA star Russell Westbrook, who shares the partnership’s mission, will work to further amplify the effort and unveil the completed lounge whe...

Herman Miller unveils new Eames Shell Chair made of 100% recycled plastic

2022-10-10T13:33:00-04:00

Furniture giant Herman Miller has announced that its entire portfolio of the iconic Eames Molded Plastic Chairs will now be made using 100% post-industrial recycled plastic. According to the company, this is the equivalent of about 122 tons of plastic per year and a 15% annual carbon reduction.

Accompanying the new material composition is new collection of shell colors, which will include the previously offered Black, White, and Red Orange colors and nine new hues: Evergreen, Cocoa, Deep Yellow, Brick Red, Pale Blue, Medium Grey, Blue Green, Grey Green, and Light Grey.

Previously: Iconic Eames chair is transformed into intriguingly obscure art by British artist and designer Chris Labrooy

The use of recycled plastic is just another iteration of the Shell Chair, which has undergone a variety of material transformations since the chair was first introduced in 1950. The original design included fiberglass, with bent wire included the following year. In 2006, the chairs utilized polyprop...

The Hip Hop Architect surprises Detroit high school senior with $10,000 scholarship

2021-12-07T18:13:00-05:00

The Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford has surprised a high school senior student in Detroit with a $10,000 scholarship from The Hip Hop Architecture Camp to study architecture.

Sarah Shaw-Nichols is a student at Ford’s former school Cass Technical High School. The scholarship was awarded through Ford's initiative that aims to introduce underrepresented youth to architecture, urban planning, creative placemaking, and economic development through the lens of hip hop culture.

The funding for the scholarship came from Herman Miller, which has recently collaborated with Ford on a variety of projects, such as the Conversations for Change program and a custom Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman piece.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Michael Ford (@thehiphoparchitect)

Herman Miller completes acquisition of Knoll, announcing new name MillerKnoll

2021-07-21T18:41:00-04:00

Herman Miller has announced that it has completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of Knoll.

The combined company, known as MillerKnoll, now comprises 19 leading brands, a presence across more than 100 countries, a global dealer network, 64 showrooms, more than 50 physical retail locations, and global multichannel eCommerce capabilities. All individual brands under Herman Miller and Knoll will continue to operate as distinct entities.

MillerKnoll will be led by Herman Miller President and CEO Andi Owen, with support from a management team made up of executives from both Herman Miller and Knoll.

“We are excited to introduce MillerKnoll, a collective of dynamic brands coming together to design the world we live in,” said Owen. “Our industry—and the world in general—is changing rapidly. Design is the way we imagine and shape a better future. In coming together, we will define and lead this transformation, like we have other transformations in our histories.”

Previously on Archinect: Her...

Herman Miller to take over Knoll in $1.8 billion merger

2021-04-19T15:13:00-04:00

Modern furniture design giant Herman Miller, Inc. announced its $1.8 billion acquisition plans of rival Knoll Inc. today.

"This transaction brings together two pioneering icons of design with strong businesses, attractive portfolios and long histories of innovation," commented Andi Owen, President and CEO of Herman Miller as well as the future combined company. "As distributed working models become the new normal for companies, businesses are reimagining the office to foster collaboration, culture and focused work, while supporting a growing remote employee base. At the same time, consumers are making significant investments in their homes. With a broad portfolio, global footprint and advanced digital capabilities, we will be poised to meet our customers everywhere they live and work."

Bloomberg reports that the merger would help the companies "feed into the transformation of home and office as work continues to be split between the two."

The combination is expected to close by the...

Herman Miller teams up with Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford

2021-01-19T11:16:00-05:00

Herman Miller has partnered with Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford, to host Conversations for Change, a platform for discussions about racial inequity, social justice, and hope.

Ford has produced his first piece of furniture with Herman Miller, a modified version of the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (ELO) that was originally launched in 1956 by Charles and Ray Eames. For Ford's remix, he has handwritten the names of victims of racism in the United States as a tribute to those who lost their lives to racial injustice.

According to the Conversations for Change website, "The ELO will travel across the US from Jan 18th, 2021 through February 2021, and people of influence; activists, actors, artists, and design professionals will sit in the Mike Ford ELO as they speak with Ford over Instagram Live via @HermanMiller and @TheHipHopArchitect, about the racial disparities in their industries and the injustice that they’ve faced."

Clerkenwell Design Week 2016 - Top Picks

2016-05-24T10:43:00-04:00

It’s that time of year when London's design district opens its doors to the public for Clerkenwell Design Week and shows the rest of London and the design industry what it has to offer. An impressive showcase of distinct and accomplished talent the three-day event spans; furniture and product design, interior design as well as architecture. This year’s event includes over 120 spaces and directly engages 100 local businesses.

For its seventh year the team have employed the help of local architects OMMX to create a new masterplan that navigates visitors and links eight temporary exhibitions as well as commissioned installations.

With so much creativity on show we thought we would make a few suggestions. Here are Archinect's top recommendations:

Open Showrooms - open throughout the festival

Domus
50 Great Sutton Street
EC1V 0DF

Frövi
Broad Yard
Turnmill Street
EC1M 5RR

Herman Miller
102-108 Clerkenwell Road
EC1M 5SA

Knoll
91 Goswell Road
EC1V 7EX

Morgan
1 Dallington Street
EC1V 0BH

Exhibitions...

Slums, Siza and squatting: ICYMI Weekly News Round-Up for July 21, 2014

2014-07-28T14:45:00-04:00

In Case You Missed It, a look back at the major happenings from last week's News.

Friday, July 25

Families Removed From 'Tower of David' Skyscraper Slum: Venezuelans initially began living in the abandoned office towers in 2007, due to the country's burgeoning financial crisis. They are now being evicted by Caracas city officials, citing safety concerns in the 45-floor building.
Row over Olympic cauldron design settled out of court: Olympic officials settled with designers from Atopia, who claimed the cauldron design relied heavily on their ideas without citation. While Atopia's influence has been recognized, design of the cauldron is still credited to Thomas Heatherwick.

Thursday, July 24

Álvaro Siza donates his architectural archives to institutions in Portugal and Canada: The archive will be divided up between the Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal), the Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon and the Fundação de Serralves in Porto.
Can a Frank Gehry design help change the dynamic of Wat...

Herman Miller Buys DWR for $154 Million. What Does That Mean for Chairs?

2014-07-21T12:41:00-04:00

Herman Miller, the manufacturer of classic midcentury designs, will buy the contemporary retailer Design Within Reach (DWR) for $154 million in a bid to establish itself as a “premier lifestyle brand.”

Herman Miller Taps Students To Rethink Our Workplaces

2012-05-29T13:03:00-04:00

Recently, Herman Miller selected six out of 16 original seating and workstation concepts, designed by students in Cranbrook’s 3-D Design Department, and helped turn them into full-scale prototypes for an exhibit at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York. The concepts are aimed at encouraging “rest and concentration in the workplace” [...].

An Eames Chair Makeover for Charity

2012-03-19T19:14:00-04:00

Presented with an Eames molded plastic chair, 30 San Antonio based designers and architects transformed the modern icon into a canvas for art.

Sketchbooks of RoTo

2011-06-03T09:55:00-04:00

My ideal workspace is wherever I am when a thought or an image comes to mind and I can sit with my sketchbook. I have always carried a notebook with me, for at least thirty years. This hand to paper, mediated by my fountain pen or RoTo pencils, switches on my mind and focuses my attention. As I draw or write, all of my senses become more acute—apprehending everything around me more clearly and precisely. A paradox, but true.

POV - Herman Miller

2011-05-16T22:45:19-04:00

A point of view-Herman Miller has one about people and design, architecture and quality, materials and problem-solving. Architects also have a special point of view. Visit Herman Miller POV to discover some of the leading architects' points of view on designing for the home.