Herman Miller Nelson Ad

Archival treasure - Enrich your space - or the space of any design enthusiast - with this faithfully reprinted advertisement from the Herman Miller archives. Herman Miller has a long tradition of styling its physical spaces with bold ads and graphics, a process it calls "environmental enrichment." Fans of the brand often ask where they can find these works of art, which prompted the company to reprint select pieces from its archives.

The Timeline Ad (1958) was designed to outline a 13-year stretch of Herman Miller history via an assortment of modern design’s most celebrated and storied pieces.

Nelson Face (1979) playfully features an abstract mask. Take another look and you’ll see that this face is composed of Herman Miller drawer hardware and finish options.

The Four Coconuts Print and The Coconut Chair celebrates the 1956 launch of the Nelson Coconut Chair. Faced with a tight budget, two-color printing restriction, and limited product photography, Harper produced a series of award-winning promotional graphics, including this 1956 advertisement, for Herman Miller.

MEASUREMENTS:

• 10" x 13" posters are framed in an 21" x 18" x 1.5" frame

MATERIALS:

• A high resolution digital print on 100% cotton paper
• American maple frame with natural, white, or black finish
• Glazed clear acrylic

HELPFUL NOTES:

• Mounting hardware included
• Appears to float in its frame, creating a graphic look when on the wall
• Warranty: 1 year

George Nelson

USA, 1908 – 1986

An industrial designer, architect, and journalist George Nelson was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1908. He attended Yale University and from 1932 until 1934 Nelson studied at the American Academy in Rome, returning to the US in 1935. From 1946 until 1972 George Nelson was director of design at Herman Miller. While working for Herman Miller, Nelson introduced several important innovations in office furniture design. The 1958 Swag Leg Group included tables, chairs and desks. In 1946 George Nelson designed Platform, a simple and functional bench for Herman Miller and it is still a mainstay in their collection.

The best known George Nelson designs include the 1955 Coconut Chair, with a triangular seat inspired by a piece of coconut shell. The 1956 Marshmallow sofa is another revolutionary design, with a seat and back made of individual round cushions. In the 1940s and 1950s, George Nelson designed a series of wall clocks for the Howard Miller Clock Company, of which the best known is the Ball clock, with the hours marked by balls of wood. A mid-century classic, the Bubble Lamps, were designed by George Nelson in 1947 and produced by Howard Miller starting in the early 1950s and ending in 1979. Modernica, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer, now produces them.

While at Herman Miller, Nelson set new standards of design in all aspects of the company and in doing so he pioneered the practice of corporate image management, graphic programs and signage.

Shop all designs by George Nelson

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