Herman Miller was founded in 1906 under its original name, the Michigan Star Furniture Company, working in residential furniture. They hired DJ De Pree, who eventually became president and bought the company. He renamed it Herman Miller in honor of his father-in-law who gave him the money to buy the company. The company remained in residential design until the Great Depression when it began to struggle.
They contacted modernist Gilbert Rhode to helped reform the look of the company. They unveiled their first line of modern furniture in 1933 at the Century of Progress Exhibit. The company later hired George Nelson who created many pieces as well as their famous logo. Two of the most famous designers who worked with Herman Miller were Ray and Charles Eames, an eccentric couple who created avant garde work. Charles Eames even worked with the military to create a portable, lightweight, strong leg splint using bent wood technology.
Other designers that have worked with Herman Miller include Alexander Girard, a fabric designer, Robert Propst, the researcher who developed the action office system, and Bill Stumpf, who is responsible for the famous Aeron chair. Herman Miller continues to grow and develop innovative pieces in the world of design and currently owns companies like Geicer, Nemschoff, Maharem, and Design Within Reach.
I though Holli did a great job explaining some of the major characteristics of the Art Deco period. She also included an interesting video that showed a lot of great pictures of Art Deco spaces.
Katie also included a great video on Art Deco buildings and art. She also used some great images for her own examples of original and current Art Deco furniture.
The Art Deco style began in the 1920s as a response to the tension between functionalism and technology vs. modernism. This style broke away from these two sides of design to create a movement that was highly decorative and fashion oriented. The style featured chevron and zigzag shapes, folding screens, mirrors, prominent light fixtures, and skyscraper inspired furniture. The materials used were rich and luxurious, including ebony, zebrawood, ivory, tortoise shell, leather, polished metals, and glass.
One prominent figure of the Art Deco movement was Jean Dunand, a furniture designer who introduced the more geometric forms that became popular during this period. Jean Michael Frank was another influential designer who became known for minimalist interiors and his use of luxury materials like shagreen, mica, and straw marquetry.
Eileen Gray was also very influential in the Art Deco period. Her career began in lacquer before WWI, but moved to designing screens and furniture after the end of the war. Her furniture was known for being highly original, ingenious, and displaying cubist characteristics.
Current Examples
Also, check out this video on the history of Art Deco:
I enjoyed the images that Hailey A used for her post. She included a lot of images that really showed what the early works of Modernism looked like and the impact of Mies van der Rohe's work.
I also felt that Happy did a great job on her blog post. She included a video about Marcel Beuer that was very informative and had some great images.
The Emergence of Modernism began at the turn of the 20th century and lasTed through the 1950s. Pioneer architects and designers like Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies Van De Rohe, and Le Corbusier led this movement that changed the face of design.
One of the major styles that arose as part of the Modernist Movement was the International Style in the 1920s and 1930s. This style was based on three princpIiples: expression of volume rather than mass, emphasis on balance rather than preconceived symmetry, and the expulsion of applied ornament.
These principles helped the International Style develop its signature characteristics, including radical simplification of form, rejection of ornamentation, and transparency of buildings. They also focused on construction, embraced industrialized mass-production techniques, and used materials like concrete, steel, and glass.
