Fixing the World, One Contest at a Time

Metropolis Magazine’s 2010 Next Generation® Design Competition, “ONE Design FIX for the FUTURE” is calling for entries. With this year’s theme, they’re looking for one design fix – in a product, a workplace, a city, a building, a landscape or wherever – that “in scale or as inspiration, can improve our future.”

So if you’re a designer who has been in business less than 10 years – or a design student – why not enter? Just think: Your idea might not only win, but with the $10,000 prize in seed money, you might actually watch it come to fruition.
Read more

File Under: Miscellaneous

Yesterday when my son and resident IT expert was showing me how to perform some supposedly simple computer task involving a cute little cloud icon, he made a rather disparaging comment about my organizational skills. My desktop, he informed me, was “a mess.”

This from someone whose bedroom floor has not been seen since 2005.
Read more

Whether You’re a “Tweeter” or “Fan”, Herman Miller Invites You to Join Its Network

Herman Miller is broadening its presence in social media platforms. With our recently launched official Facebook site, we’re offering you another way to interface with our organization. Watch for real-time updates about products, services, events, and behind-the-scenes stories from our extensive archives on Facebook.

You can also join over 2,000 people who are already following Herman Miller on Twitter. We’re tweeting company news updates and events, as well as responding to questions you have.

Interested in stories about design, products, or the Herman Miller community? Check out our videos on the Herman Miller YouTube channel. Or peruse the stories in this blog, where we welcome your comments in the conversation that interests you—on topics from design to our products to what makes the world a better place for all of us.

The Texture of Healthcare Design 09

Keynote speeches, round table discussions, hands-on workshops, lecture presentations, exhibit hall displays, awards ceremonies (to honor the Florabella lounge collection, a winner in the Nightingale Awards Competition), and interpersonal conversations shaped the collective Herman Miller Healthcare experience at the Healthcare Design conference held Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Orlando, Florida.

Our live media team, composed of individuals from Herman Miller and our subsidiaries Brandrud and Nemschoff, covered the event live on Twitter under stream #hcd09.

What did we learn? What were the major trends we observed and takeaways we will continue to think about? What texture did we take away from the intangible? We synthesized our experience and now we present five takeaway points back to you for consideration:

1.  You can apply lean process to any industry. Learn and apply best practices from other fields.
2.  Use evidence-based design to drive innovation.
3.  Patients, doctors, nurses, furniture, infrastructure, equipment, buildings, and nature are all part of the same ecosystem.
4.  Design healthcare products and environments that reference norms but create delight.
5.  Listen, ask, test, challenge, and participate in communities that are shaping the future of healthcare.

We’d love to hear your reactions. Do you agree? Understand? Let’s continue the conversation here and on Twitter. Follow @healthcarehm and stream #betterworld.

Twist Kindles “Spark!”

Herman Miller’s Twist LED task light, designed by Yves Béhar from fuseproject, has received the “Spark!” award, the pinnacle of recognition among four levels of honors—”Spark!” Gold, Silver and Bronze–in the SparkAwards international design competition.

Watch this video to hear Yves talk about the design and innovation behind Twist.

Achieving the Promise of Programmable Environments

Note: This is the fourth in a series about Herman Miller’s Programmable Environments (PE) initiative. To read the first post, see “Getting Buildings and People In Sync.” Second post: “Cut Electrical Use, Get ‘Stimulused,’ and Earn LEED Credits.” Third post: “Energy Manager Saves Energy, Optimizes Real Estate, Cuts Costs.”

According to Always Building, Herman Miller’s book about PE, “To achieve programmable environments, we think about a digital as well as physical dimension of space.” Integrating the digital dimension can make a building smarter, more efficient, and responsive to the people who use it.
Read more

Adding Dimension to “Daisy Face” in L.A.

Known for his iconic textile patterns and colors, Alexander Girard brought a new dimension of modern design to Herman Miller in the fabrics he designed during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. One well-known design is “Daisy Face,” a screen-print created for the Action Office system in 1972.

In this video, hear what Bob Guerin, of Propp + Guerin Design, says about the three-dimensional “Daisy Face” sculpture outside Herman Miller’s Los Angeles showroom. It’s another way we’ve harmonized the details of design with the natural world.

How Can We Make This a Better World? And What Does Zero Have to Do with It?

How do we balance using our resources to earn a profit while doing it responsibly? At Herman Miller, we look to our statement of corporate values called Things That Matter. One of the nine is called “A Better World.”

Our third annual Better World Report talks about how we’re trying to live up to our Better World values—advocating for the environment, embracing inclusiveness, fostering well-being, and serving our communities. Read it for a look at our progress so far.

And the zero? It graces the cover of the report because getting to a zero operational footprint by 2020 is such a big deal for us. We’re proud to say that we’re 83.5% of the way there. For the full story, check out our video “Zero is hero.”

Energy Manager Saves Energy, Optimizes Real Estate, Cuts Costs

Note: This is the third in a series. To read the first post, see “Getting Buildings and People In Sync.” For the second post, “Cut Electrical Use, Get ‘Stimulused,’ and Earn LEED Credits.”

What if someone invented a simple, affordable device you quickly attach to your car to save you gas? Genius, right?

Well then, check this out. It’s Herman Miller’s new Energy Manager—a simple, affordable device you quickly attach to your Herman Miller systems furniture (new or retrofit) to save you electrical energy, 24/7.
Read more

In the End, It’s All About the Details

With its dramatic bowstring wood trusses, curved walls, and freestanding forms, Herman Miller’s Los Angeles showroom epitomizes Herman Miller’s design legacy—right down to the details.

Check out how this video captures the extensive level of detail and craft—in both the architecture and the products—that create a dynamic spatial flow and enhance the natural beauty of the materials in the space. Then come see for yourself. We’re pretty sure you’ll be delighted.