George Nelson
In 1944, George Nelson introduced his idea for the first modular storage system, StorageWall. It was ridiculed by the furniture industry, but Herman Miller founder DJ De Pree was so impressed after reading the article in Architectural Forum that he traveled to New York to meet with Nelson and convince him to become Herman Miller's design director. Nelson was also so impressed that he eventually agreed to take on the assignment. While running his own design studio, Nelson helped Herman Miller create contemporary furniture for modern post-war lifestyles and homes. Design is about solving fundamental human problems
Founded in 1923 (its predecessor, Star Furniture Company, was founded in 1905), Herman Miller bet its survival on contemporary furniture during the Great Depression of the 1930s. This gamble was a huge success, and in 1945 Herman Miller stopped producing traditional furniture and focused its business on contemporary furniture, which would later be called modern furniture. In 1960, the company began exploring the true needs of office workers and the needs of companies and organizations. It realized that office productivity was a major issue in business. The "Action Office" that was developed in this way became the standard for subsequent office systems.
Herman Miller considers innovation to be the result of research, not a goal. Innovation comes from research into customer needs, exploration of materials and processes, and design in response to social and economic innovation. Of course, designers add inspiration on top of that. Charles and Ray Eames' plywood chairs, Robert Propst's Action Office, Bill Stumpf's Ergon and Aeron chairs, and Ayse Birsel's Resolve system are all born from such interactions. What connected them to Herman Miller is the shared belief that "design exists to solve fundamental human problems." It is the passion to create new designs from research into the human body structure and the environment surrounding humans, rather than designing for the sake of design.
The quality control department repeats the industry standard 100,000 seat tests 1 million times. The unparalleled research and development department develops from the material, and the manufacturing department realizes the most advanced manufacturing process. In all of these, Herman Miller never forgets its idea of creating new designs by researching the human body and the environment. Herman Miller's products are the inevitable form that was born from researching the problems related to the act of sitting. In order to save the earth's resources and reduce the environmental burden, Herman Miller's products strive to improve the durability and reliability of its products, and the product warranty period for work chairs is 12 years. Another aspect of innovation, "taking risks," is equally important. Herman Miller strives to always maintain a willingness to take risks. As the company expands and the responsibility for capital increases, the pressure to minimize risk has also increased. However, Herman Miller continues to take risks to bring out new products that it is confident will be successful - and sometimes products with revolutionary qualities that will change the times.
Herman Miller Quality Assurance
| Product Name | Warranty period |
| Aeron Chair | 12 years |
| Embody Chair | 12 years |
| Mirra 2 Chair | 12 years |
| Sayl Chair | 12 years |
| Celle Chair | 12 years |
| Setu Chair | 12 years |
| Cosm Chair | 12 years |
| Eames Office Products | 12 years |
| Eames Home Products | 5 years |
| Gas pressure cylinders (office chair products) | 2 years |
Conditions for quality assurance: The product must be (new) purchased directly from an authorized Herman Miller Japan dealer and the request must come from the original purchaser who is currently using the product. The product must have been manufactured at a Herman Miller designated manufacturing facility. The product must not have been disassembled or modified by the customer. The product must have been installed and used correctly. The quality assurance does not apply to second-hand products, products purchased through private sales, online auctions, etc. For more information on Herman Miller quality assurance claims, please click here .
