Herman Miller Posters 2024

Herman Miller is kicking off its 2024 poster release slate with a bang by presenting a quintet of classic designs from its deep graphical archives. Where 2023’s slate of poster releases consisted of well-known graphics like Alexander Girard’s famed “Environmental Enrichment Panels” and the well-known “Watermelon Picnic Poster” from 1971, this offering supplies “deep cuts,” tapping into everything from ’60s brochure covers to informative graphics created for Herman Miller showrooms in the 80’s.

Leading things off chronologically are purple, green and blue iterations of designer Tomoko Miho’s brochure cover posters. From 1960 to 1962, Miho, who worked in George Nelson’s office at the time, designed the covers for Herman Miller’s price lists and brochures. You can see Herman Miller’s logo among the geometric lines, still clearly visible but taking a backseat to the bold colors that make it up. Next is the “Ideas poster,” created by Linda Powell in 1978. Originally the cover for an issue of Ideas Magazine — a quarterly Herman Miller publication that spotlighted users of the brand’s office products — the design was a nod to the issue’s feature article, which explored the shifting tides of business in the late 70’s, a time period of significant business headwinds that birthed the term “stagflation.”

John Massey’s “Action Office 2 Poster” from 1978 is a tribute to the designer who helped Herman Miller establish a large part of its strong corporate identity with his sharp yet playful design style, spotlighted by his posters’ swooping curves, sharp geometric lines and bright colors. Barbara Loveland’s “Wilkes Modular Sofa Group Poster” was created in 1981 as part of an internal Herman Miller project called “The Big Book,” a series of 44 posters that hung in the brand’s showrooms to showcase the company’s extensive offerings. Last but not least, Steve Frykholm’s 1981 “Chadwick Modular Seating Poster” showcases the versatility, imagination and creativity of the customizable seating system it promoted with a winding black-and-white design. It’s also worth noting that it’s a fitting time for the poster’s return, as the Chadwick system is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024.

Posted by: TAWD on March 1, 2024