George Nelson (designer)
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George Nelson (29 May 1908 – 5 March 1986) was an American
industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...
. While lead designer for the
Herman Miller MillerKnoll, Inc., doing business as Herman Miller, is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings. Its best known designs include the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, Mirra chair, and t ...
furniture company, Nelson and his design studio, George Nelson Associates, designed 20th-century modernist
furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
. He is considered a founder of American modernist design.


Early life

Nelson was born on May 29, 1908, in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, to Jewish parents Simeon Nelson and Lillian Canterow Nelson. His parents owned a drugstore. Nelson graduated from
Hartford Public High School Hartford Public High School, in Hartford, Connecticut, was founded in 1638. It is the second-oldest public secondary school in the United States, after the Boston Latin School. It is part of the Hartford Public Schools district. Notable alumni ...
in 1924, and thereafter attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. He did not originally set out to become an architect; he happened upon the architecture school at Yale, when he ducked into a building during a rainstorm, in order to get out of the rain. Walking through the building, he came upon an exhibit of students' works entitled "A Cemetery Gateway". Nelson met with some early recognition while still an undergraduate, when he was published in ''Pencil Points'' and ''Architecture'' magazines. During his final year at Yale, he was hired by the architecture firm Adams and Prentice as a draftsman. In 1928, he graduated with a degree in architecture. In 1929, Nelson was hired as a Teacher's Assistant while pursuing his second bachelor's degree at Yale. He received a degree in Fine Arts in 1931. The next year, while preparing for the Paris Prize competition, he won the
Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Recipients must be American citizens. Prizes have been aw ...
, a fellowship that allowed him to study architecture in Rome for two years with a healthy stipend and accommodations in a palace. While based in Rome, Nelson traveled through Europe where he met a number of the modernist pioneers, whom he interviewed for articles for ''Pencil Points'' magazine. While being interviewed by Nelson,
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...
asked about
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, whom Nelson was embarrassed to say he did not know much about. Years later, however, Nelson would work with Wright on a special issue of ''
Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownershi ...
'' which catalyzed Wright's comeback from relative obscurity. While in Rome Nelson married Frances Hollister. A few years later, he returned to the United States to devote himself to writing. Through his articles in ''Pencil Points'' he introduced the work of
Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...
, Mies van der Rohe,
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
, and
Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...
to North America.


1935–1944: Design writing

In 1935, Nelson joined ''
Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownershi ...
'', where he was first associate editor (1935–1943), and later consulting editor (1944–1949). There, he defended the modernist principles, arguing against colleagues who, as "industrial designers", made too many concessions to the commercial forces of the industry. Nelson believed the work of a designer should be to better the world. In his view, nature was already perfect, but man ruined it by making things that didn't follow the rules of nature. "The contemporary architect, cut off from symbols, ornament and meaningful elaborations of structural form, all of which earlier periods processed in abundance, has desperately chased every functional requirement, every change in sight or ornamentation, every technical improvement, to provide some basis for starting his work. Where the limitations were most rigorous, as for example in a factory, or in a skyscraper where every inch had to yield its profit, there the designers were happiest and the results most satisfying but; let a religious belief or a social ideal replace the cubic foot costs or radiation losses, and nothing happened. There is not a single modern church in the entire country that is comparable to a first-rate cafeteria, as far as solving the problem is concerned." At this point, Nelson's career still mainly involved writing for architecture magazines and not actually designing the solutions to modern living that he would later become famous for. By 1940, Nelson had become known for several innovative concepts. In his post-war book ''Tomorrow's House'', co-authored with Henry Wright, he introduced the concept of the "
family room A family room is an informal, all-purpose room in a house. The family room is designed to be a place where family and guests gather for group recreation like talking, reading, watching TV, and other family activities. Often, the family room is loc ...
", and the "storage wall". The storage wall was a recessed, built-in bookcase or shelving between the empty space of two walls. The concept was developed while writing the section on storage, as neither Nelson nor Wright were able to write enough for their publisher's liking. Nelson then posed the question,"What's inside the wall?", and realized that the space between walls was not utilized. The idea was initially published in ''Architectural Forum'' and then republished in ''Life'' in 1945. The book was a commercial success and made it onto the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.


1945–1954: Herman Miller

In 1945, the Herman Miller furniture company was producing mostly conventional, wood-based designs. After reading ''Tomorrow's House'' D.J. Depree, the Chairman of Herman Miller, selected Nelson to be the company's next Director of Design, despite Nelson having no experience designing furniture. Depree was more interested in Nelson's insight into the best way to make furniture innovative and useful. Nelson was offered a contract that allowed him the freedom to work outside of Herman Miller, and to use designs from other architects that Nelson had worked with. He became the Director of Design for Herman Miller in 1947, and held the position until 1972. The first Herman Miller catalog produced by Nelson was released in 1945. Over the following years it would include some of the most iconic home furnishings of the 20th century. Ray and Charles Eames,
Harry Bertoia Harry Bertoia (March 10, 1915 – November 6, 1978) was an Italian-born American artist, sound art sculptor, and modern furniture furniture designer, designer. Bertoia was born in San Lorenzo di Arzene, San Lorenzo d'Arzene, Province of Porden ...
, Richard Schultz, Donald Knorr, and
Isamu Noguchi was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...
all worked for Herman Miller, under Nelson's supervision. Although both Bertoia and Noguchi later expressed regrets about their involvement, it became a successful period for the company, and for George Nelson.


1955–1980s: George Nelson Associates, Inc.

Using the money he earned as Director of Design for Herman Miller, in 1947 Nelson opened a design studio in New York City. On October 26, 1955, he incorporated it into George Nelson Associates, Inc., and moved to 251
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
South. The studio was successful in bringing together many of the top designers of the era, who were soon designing for Herman Miller under the George Nelson label. Among the noted designers who worked for George Nelson Associates, Inc. were Irving Harper, George Mulhauser (designer of the Coconut Chair),
Robert Brownjohn Robert Brownjohn (August 8, 1925 – August 1, 1970) was an American graphic designer known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and 1960s pop culture. He is best known for his motion picture title sequences, especially ''From ...
(designer of the sets for the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film '' Goldfinger''), Gordon Chadwick, Bill Renwick, Suzanne Sekey, John Svezia, Ernest Farmer, Tobias O'Mara, Ronald Beckman (designer of the Sling Sofa), George Tscherny, (who designed the Herman Miller advertisements), Dan Lewis, Lance Wyman, and John Pile. With his studio, Nelson enacted new practices for the involvement of design in all aspects of the company, pioneering the practice of corporate image management, graphic programs, and signage. By the time the company closed in the mid-1980s George Nelson Associates, Inc. had worked with most of the
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
companies. George Nelson's architectural projects included what he dubbed "The Colombian Garden of Health", a 200-bed tertiary care hospital in Bogota, Colombia, commissioned by the Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota. In 1959, he remarried to Jacqueline Griffiths. That same year, he served as the lead designer for the
American National Exhibition The American National Exhibition, held from July 25 to September 4, 1959, was an exhibition of American art, fashion, cars, capitalism, model homes and futuristic kitchens. Held at Sokolniki Park in Moscow, then capital of the Soviet Union, the e ...
in Moscow.


The office cubicle

Nelson worked with the Herman Miller Research Corporation during the mid 1960s. It was in close proximity to the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
campus. The company's purpose was to examine changes in the use of office furniture that had taken place during the 20th century, but not the furniture itself. After consulting with experts in psychology, anthropology, and various other fields, Propst created the Action Office I line, which was executed by Nelson's studio, and first appeared in Herman Miller's 1964 catalog. For designing the Action Office I Nelson was awarded the prestigious Alcoa award. The Action Office I line was not a success, and Nelson was removed from the project. Propst then created the Action Office II, which is better known today as the office cubicle. Despite the ''"Action Office II"'' line becoming Herman Miller's most successful project, George Nelson disowned himself from any connection with the project. In 1970 he sent a letter to Robert Blaich, who had become Herman Miller's Vice-President for Corporate Design and Communication, in which he described the system's "dehumanizing effect as a working environment." He summed up his feeling by saying:
"One does not have to be an especially perceptive critic to realize that AO II is definitely not a system which produces an environment gratifying for people in general. But it is admirable for planners looking for ways of cramming in a maximum number of bodies, for "employees" (as against individuals), for "personnel," corporate zombies, the walking dead, the silent majority. A large market."
Scornful as he may have been, Nelson was right that there turned out to be a "larger market" for AO II. By 2005 total sales had reached $5 billion.


1980s: Retirement and death

Nelson retired with the closing of his studio in the mid-1980s. In 1984, he became a scholar in residence at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. He died in New York City in 1986.


Influence and legacy

The George Nelson Associates, Inc. catalog, and exhibition designs for Herman Miller, made
modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
the most important driving force in the company. From his start in the mid-forties until the mid-eighties George Nelson Associates, Inc. partnered with most of the modernist designers of the time. This was both the result of Nelson's time as a magazine editor, and because of Nelson's writing. His skill as a writer helped legitimize and stimulate the field of industrial design by contributing to the creation of ''Industrial Design'' magazine in 1953. Nelson wrote extensively, published several books, and organized conferences like the
Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...
design gatherings, where for more than 30 years he was the guiding force. In 1971, he received a grant from the
Graham Foundation The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts is a 501(c)3 non-profit that "fosters the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. The Graham realize ...
for his project "Hidden Cities". One of George Nelson's areas of interest was the reduction of pollution. Through his attempts to reduce all forms of pollution, including visual, audio, and chemical, Nelson pioneered the idea of the outdoor shopping mall, first using the idea in a proposal for the city plan of
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, which was not used. In 2008, the
Vitra Design Museum The Vitra Design Museum is a privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany. The architect of this building was Frank O. Gehry. His architecture was based on the art movement of the early 20th century, deconstructivism. Making the bu ...
in Weil am Rhein, Germany, held a retrospective of Nelson's work to celebrate his 100th birthday. Design critic
Alice Rawsthorn Alice Rawsthorn OBE (born 1958 in Manchester) is a British design critic and author. Her books include ''Design as an Attitude'' (2018) and ''Hello World: Where Design Meets Life'' (2013). She is chair of the board of trustees at the Chisenhale ...
, covering the retrospective for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', argued that Nelson's contributions have been unfairly overlooked due to his association with the cubicle and jokey 1950s objects. "Blaming Nelson for the soullessness of today's open-plan offices seems as unfair as slating Le Corbusier for other architects' sloppily designed skyscrapers, or Marcel Duchamp for every lazy piece of conceptual art," she wrote. " elsonchampioned the importance of values in design, which he saw as a catalyst for social change."


Attribution

In recent years it has become known that many of the designs George Nelson accepted credit for were actually the work of other designers employed at his studios. Examples of this include the Marshmallow sofa, which was actually designed by Irving Harper. Propst did not receive credit for
Action Office The Action Office is a series of furniture designed by Robert Propst, and manufactured and marketed by Herman Miller. First introduced in 1964 as the ''Action Office I'' product line, then superseded by the ''Action Office II'' series, it is an ...
. John Pile, a designer who worked for Nelson in the 1950s, commented about this practice; "George's attitude was that it was okay for individual designers to be given credit in trade publications, but for the consumer world, the credit should always be to the firm, not the individual. He didn't always follow through on that policy though." In an interview in ''Metropolis'' in 2001, Irving Harper also commented on this practice: "...there always had to be one name associated with the work. We couldn't just spread it around… that's fine. I'm grateful to George for what he did for me. While he was alive, I made no demands whatsoever, but now that he's gone, whenever the Marshmallow Sofa is referred to as a 'George Nelson design', it sort of gets to me. I don't go out of my way to set things right, but if anybody asks me who designed it, I'm perfectly happy to tell them."


Designs


Furniture

* 1946 Slat Bench a/k/a Platform Bench * 1946 Basic Cabinet Series (a number of these cabinets were reintroduced by Herman Miller in 2011) * 1946 Sofas, chairs, settees, and bedroom pieces (all included in the first Herman Miller catalog) * 1947 Bubble Lamp (previously available from Howard Miller Clock company, then Modernica, but now available as of 2016 from Herman Miller) * 1950 Ball clock (likely designed by Irving Harper, originally made by Howard Miller, reintroduced by Vitra) * 1952 Rosewood Group * 1952 Executive Office Group * 1954 Miniature Cases * 1954 Steel-frame Group * 1954 Nelson End Table (and low coffee table) * 1955 Flying Duck Chair * 1955 Coconut Chair # (currently available in black leather only, but without the matching ottoman) * 1956 Thin Edge Cases (a number of these cabinets were reintroduced by Herman Miller in 2012) * 1956 Kangaroo Chair * 1958 Swagged-Leg (a/k/a/ Swag Leg) Group (reintroduced by Herman Miller in 2011) * 1959 Comprehensive Storage System (CSS) * 1963 Catenary Group * 1964 Action Office I (principally designed by Robert Propst) * 1964 Sling Sofa & coffee table: Sofa made of
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
and filled with solid foam cushions, joints held with
epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...
for easier/cheaper mass-productionMeadmore, Clement. The Modern Chair: Classics in Production. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1979. and smoother feel. Use of a single welt along the perimeter of the padding for approachable softness. Padding held up by rubber bands for comfort. His firm, George Nelson Associates, also designed a large series of wall and table clocks for the Howard Miller company, as well as a range of hanging Bubble Lamps, which had plastic membrane-covered wire-form shades, wrought iron fireplace pieces, planters, room dividers, ceiling-mounted "Ribbon Wall," spice cabinets, and many other products that became milestones in the history of a profession that he helped to shape. A number of the nearly 300 classic wall and table clocks for Howard Miller Clock Company (including the Ball, Kite, Eye, Turbine, Spindle, Petal and Spike clocks, as well as a handful of desk clocks) are currently available from Vitra. Many were designed by Irving Harper (as well as Lucia DeRespinis, Charles Pollock, and others). Subsequently, Vitra has discontinued some of their reproduction clocks based on sales. All the original clock designs were simply assigned numbers by Howard Miller. Probably the most recognisable of the series, the Ball Clock, was advertised and sold as 'Clock 4755'; the Sunflower Clock as 'Clock 2261'. Several colour variations were available for many of the clocks. The Ball Clock was available in six colour variations, the Sunflower Clock in three. One of the more unusual designs, the Eye Clock ('Clock 2238') was pictured in the original Howard Miller Clock Company brochures in a diagonal position, not horizontal, as would be expected.


Fairchild House

The 1941 Fairchild House was built for the Airplane manufacturer
Sherman Fairchild Sherman Mills Fairchild (April 7, 1896 – March 28, 1971) was an American businessman and investor who founded over 70 companies, including Fairchild Aviation, Fairchild Industries, and Fairchild Camera and Instrument. Fairchild made signifi ...
and was meant to be a "machine for living". The building's architecture was centered on its central courtyard, with all windows (including floor-to-ceiling windows) facing towards it.Ferhman, Kennith, Cherie Ferhman, Post War Interior Design. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1987.


Analysis of work

Nelson has been tagged a metadesigner for his progressive thinking of interdisciplinary design, for bringing his primary focus on the process, not the product. However, he was not only unconventional and noncommercial in his presentations, but at times even negative. "...it is the career of an architect who advocated the end of architecture, a furniture designer who imagined rooms without furniture, an urban designer who contemplated the hidden city, an industrial designer who questioned the future of the object and hated the obsession with products."


References

* *Borgerson, Janet and Jonathan Schroeder (2017)
Designed for Hi-Fi Living: The Vinyl LP in Midcentury America
MIT Press, 2017. * * Nelson George. "How to See: Visual Adventures in a World God Never Made."
Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional of ...
, 2017.


External links


George Nelson FoundationGeorgeNelson.org
(unofficial fan site) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, George Modernist designers American furniture designers 1908 births 1986 deaths AIGA medalists Yale School of Architecture alumni Product designers