MillerKnoll, Inc., doing business as Herman Miller, is an American company that produces

office 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 ...

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...

, and home furnishings. Its best known designs include the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, Mirra chair, and the

Eames Lounge Chair The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman is a lounge chair and ottoman manufactured and sold by American furniture company Herman Miller. Introduced in 1956, the Eames Lounge Chair was designed by Charles and Ray Eames and is made of molded plywood an ...

. Herman Miller is also credited with the 1968 invention of the office

cubicle A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that ...

(originally known as the "

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 First introduced in 1964 as the ''Action Office I'' product line, then superseded by the ''Action Office II'' series, it is an ...

") under then-director of research Robert Propst.

History

: Herman Miller was founded in 1905 as the Star Furniture Co. In 1919, it was renamed the Michigan Star Furniture Co. under then-president

Dirk Jan De Pree Dirk Jan "D.J." DePree (July 31, 1891 – December 10, 1990) was an American furniture designer, and a founding participant and furniture business leader involved in the companies that would become the brand and manufacturer, Herman Miller, unde ...

. De Pree and his father-in-law, Herman Miller, (born Harm Mulder on 7 September 1867 in Hoogemeeden, Groningen, Netherlands) acquired most of the company's shares in 1923 and renamed it the Herman Miller Furniture Company. With the coming of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the company faced bankruptcy until De Pree met

Gilbert Rohde Gilbert Rohde (1894–1944), whose career as a furniture and industrial designer helped to define American modernism during its first phase from the late 1920s to World War II, is best known today for inaugurating modern design at Herman Miller ...

, an up-and-coming

modernist 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 ...

designer. Rohde convinced De Pree that the furniture industry's focus on historical reproduction furniture in lieu of new designs was not only out of touch with the consumer, but fundamentally dishonest in the practices used to make furniture pieces appear older and of higher quality than they were. De Pree acquired the rights to Rohde's modernist furniture designs in exchange for a three percent royalty on any furniture sold. In 1942, Miller officially joined the office furniture market under Rohde's supervision. Rohde died in 1944 and was replaced by George Nelson in 1945. Over time, Nelson influenced Herman Miller through both his personal designs and the designers that he recruited, including

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 ...

Charles and Ray Eames Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...

, and textile designer

Alexander Girard Alexander Girard (May 24, 1907 – December 31, 1993), affectionately known as Sandro, was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer, and a textile designer. Early life He was born in New York City to an America ...

. This period saw Herman Miller produce some of the company's most recognizable products, including the Noguchi table,

, Marshmallow sofa, Ball clock (actually produced by

Howard Miller Clock Company The Howard Miller Company is a Zeeland, Michigan, based manufacturer of longcase clocks and other home furnishings. History Howard Miller Clock Company was founded in 1926, as the Herman Miller Clock Company division of office furniture manuf ...

), and the Sling sofa. The company reformed as Herman Miller, Inc. in 1960. In 1961, Herman Miller set up the Herman Miller Research Division, based in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. This division developed the "

" line in 1964 under the supervision of Robert Propst and with the design assistance of George Nelson's New York design studio. Though the initial line, known as "Action Office I", was not a success, it led Propst to develop the "Action Office II" line, which introduced the office

. In 1981, Herman Miller started to work with the Italian designer Clino Trini Castelli on the process of designing physical environments, a so-called Design Primario. In 2010, the firm acquired Colebrook Bosson Saunders, a designer and manufacturer of ergonomic furniture. The acquisition of

Knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, ...

by Herman Miller was announced in April 2021 in a $1.8 billion deal. The acquisition was closed on July 19, 2021, and the company was rebranded as MillerKnoll.

Brands

In addition to Herman Miller and Knoll, the company owns notable brands including Design Within Reach, Colebrook Bosson Saunders, DatesWeiser, Edelman Leather,

Holly Hunt Holly Hunt is an American designer. She is the founder and CEO of Holly Hunt Design (now a subsidiary MillerKnoll, Inc.), a company that designs, produces and showcases custom made product including indoor and outdoor furniture, lighting, rugs, ...

, Geiger, HAY, Maharam,

Muuto Muuto is a Scandinavian design company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The product range includes furniture and other design products. History Muuto was founded by Kristian Byrge and Peter Bonnen in 2006. Byrge had previously been involved in the f ...

., and NaughtOne.

Workplace

In March 2008, Herman Miller settled an antitrust lawsuit with the states of New York, Michigan, and Illinois for $750,000. The lawsuit focused on Herman Miller's use of a suggested retail pricing policy. According to ''CNN Money'', , Herman Miller was ranked as the second most admired company in the Home Equipment, Furnishing division. In April 2023 CEO Andi Owen scolded employees for worrying about bonus pay in an internal town hall meeting. The video went viral for her criticizing employees after Owen told them to "leave Pity City." Owen had reportedly received $4 million in bonuses in 2022. Some social media users criticized her comments as "unhinged", "nasty" and "toxic". A company representative insisted the video was taken out of context and was a small exchange in a mostly positive town hall meeting that went for 75 minutes. Owen later apologised to employees.

Sustainability

Herman Miller has engaged in a number of initiatives to promote

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

. The company has developed a technique of mixing

sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling and routing. It is composed of very small chips of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable p ...

with

chicken manure Chicken manure is the feces of chickens used as an organic fertilizer, especially for soil low in nitrogen. Of all animal manures, it has the highest amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Chicken manure is sometimes pelletized for ...

to produce

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...

. Management of the company has expressed concerns about

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

, and the company was using 27%

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

. Herman Miller calls its driving sustainability initiative "Perfect Vision" and it put the strategy in place in 2004. These targets include zero landfill disposal, zero

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...

generation, zero air emissions (

VOCs Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to house mold, upholstered furniture, arts and crafts supp ...

), zero process water discharge, 100% green electrical energy use, company buildings constructed to a minimum

LEED Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certification, and 100% of sales from DfE-approved products. Herman Miller helped fund the start of the

United States Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)(3), membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of t ...

, and hired architect William McDonough + Partners to design a factory incorporating

green design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability a ...

principles. The building is known as the "Greenhouse", and is an example of

green building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...

. The building won the following awards: *AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Environmental Buildings, 1997 *Business Week/Architectural Record Good Design Is Good Business Award, 1997 *AIA Central Virginia Honor Award, 1998 *International Development Research Council, Award for Distinguished Service in Environmental Planning, 1995

Notable products

* Eames Lounge Chair Wood (1946) – designed by

* Marshmallow sofa (1954) – designed by Irving Harper *

and Ottoman (1956) – designed by Charles and Ray Eames * Eames Aluminum Group Chairs (1958) – designed by Charles and Ray Eames * Aeron chair (1987) – designed by Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick * Mirra 1 (2003) – designed by Studio 7.5 * Noguchi table (1948) – designed by

References

External links

*
The Herman Miller Consortium Collection
at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

Library is a historic, digital, product collection originally accumulated as part of Herman Miller's corporate archives in a digitized, searchable format.
CNN.com: "Cubicles: The great mistake"

YouTube.com: "Comments on Herman Miller"
��by designer

Yves Béhar Yves Béhar (; born 9 May 1967) is a Swiss-born American designer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and principal designer of Fuseproject, an industrial design and brand development firm. Béhar is also the co-founder and Chief Creative Office ...

"Herman Miller Embody Office Chair Review"
''The Tech Reviewer'' {{Charles and Ray Eames Companies based in Connecticut Companies based in Fairfield County, Connecticut Companies based in Stamford, Connecticut Companies listed on the Nasdaq Design companies of the United States Furniture companies of the United States Industrial design firms