Then X Ten: The Power of the Poster
By David Foster
For more than 15 years, Linda Powell helped define the visual identity of Herman Miller as a member of the company’s graphic design team. Her creative work, like this poster promoting an exhibition of classic Herman Miller designs, garnered Powell multiple awards and prompted the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum to include her work in its collection. A passionate educator, she went on to work with aspiring graphic designers as a professor at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.
When George Tscherny joined George Nelson & Associates in 1953, he was an assistant and the low man in the office. A few years later, Tscherny was named the head of the graphics department and given a staff of his own. A talented designer, Tscherny proved himself by challenging commonly held notions of advertising furniture. This ad, for the Herman Miller Fabric Collection, is one noted example and illustrates Tscherny’s belief that, “Design communicates best when reduced to its essential elements.”
Don Ervin was a multitalented artist who began his career at George Nelson & Associates, first as a designer and then later as the office’s Director of Graphic Design. Ervin created many well-known logos, ads, and posters—including this one, an assemblage of classic Herman Miller products in black silhouettes. Its style is often replicated in advertisements today.
Don Ervin was a multitalented artist who began his career at George Nelson & Associates, first as a designer and then later as the office’s Director of Graphic Design. Ervin created many well-known logos, ads, and posters—including this one, an assemblage of classic Herman Miller products in black silhouettes. Its style is often replicated in advertisements today.
Straight lines, neat arcs, wandering serpentines, loops, full circles—with just five simple components, the Chadwick Modular Seating could be arranged in nearly any shape. A fact made evident in this promotional poster designed by Steve Frykholm, Herman Miller’s first internal graphic designer.
Parodying the kinds of uncomfortable chairs he spent his career improving, designer Bill Stumpf doodled this sketch on the back of a napkin. Quickly snatched up by graphic designer Steve Frykholm, the drawing became a poster. Stumpf was widely recognized as a pioneer of ergonomic design and a long-time collaborator with Herman Miller. As co-creator of the Aeron Chair, he helped transform the very concept of sitting.
Steve Frykholm joined Herman Miller in 1970 as the company’s first internal graphic designer. Two weeks into the job, he was asked by an executive to make a poster announcing the company’s annual employee picnic. In a moment of inspiration, Frykholm put an ear of corn in his mouth and asked a colleague to make a quick sketch. From that, he created this poster, which won an American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) award.
"A design must satisfy the problem it was conceived to solve,” explains graphic designer John Massey, “but can achieve a life of its own when the creator imbues it with a spirit.” This poster, which uses color and form to express the optimism and flexibility of an innovative product, is one such example. Massey received the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) medal in 1994.
Despite living in different parts of the world, design team Craig & Karl collaborate daily on works recognized for their bold yet thoughtful nature. For Then X Ten, the duo opted to create a split portrait of Charles and Ray, explaining, “They were a creative force together—Charles in a bowtie and Ray with a ribbon in her hair. The Hang-It-All is integrated into the artwork, and while you don't see the whole product, you know what it is.”
Under the careful eye of Eda Akaltun, old photos and other ephemera become detailed collages that invoke a sense of nostalgia. While working on this piece, Akaltun found inspiration in the playful nature that Charles and Ray Eames applied to design. “Together they created the Molded Plywood Chair, which works well in any environment.” As Akaltun explains, “The four interconnected rooms depict the chair in different contexts and, I hope, capture the couple’s playful spirit.”
Employing a range of approaches, Jonathan Zawada is a graphic designer whose style is ever evolving. Finding his inspiration in the “simple beauty” of the Coconut Chair, Zawada explains, “I wanted my design to draw attention to that form. I also wanted to pay homage to the directness and simplicity of Herman Miller posters from the past, while updating the visual language for an audience that lives in a world of emoticons.”
Designers Mrzyk & Moriceau are becoming notorious for their mischievous black-and-white line drawings. With amorphous figures stacked atop one another and sandwiched between two Eames Lounge Chairs, their Then X Ten poster design certainly lives up to their reputation. When asked for explanation, the artists declined, stating, “We don't like to explain our work, we prefer to let people imagine what they want.”
Emily Forgot (the curious moniker of graphic artist Emily Alston) embraces the odd, the everyday, and occasionally the surreal to create images that surprise. Forgot’s idea for Then X Ten began with typography: “I wanted to create something familiar and nostalgic, but with letters at its core. The final design is subtle: The 'HM' is made of office panels and inhabited by surreal elements, office characters, and, of course, beautiful furniture by Herman Miller.”
Keiichi Tanaami is an illustrator and graphic designer widely credited with introducing psychedelic and pop art to his native Japan. Creating a poster for the Marshmallow Sofa, Tanaami describes the iconic design as floating against a backdrop of “colorful creatures wriggling in a chaotic modern world.” And he notes that the snake woman relaxing on the sofa “seems to be having fun.”
A self-described jack-of-all-trades, Sanghon Kim moves seamlessly between media in search of a strong visual language. A journey, in this case, that transports the viewer to a fantastical forest created from the repeated forms of the Walnut Stools—and home for Walnut Boy, “A character inspired by one of my daughter’s drawings and a symbol of the joyful spirit of the Eameses.”
The work of Kam Tang is typified by meticulous attention to detail and constant reinvention. For this piece, Tang chose to convey the lightness and transparency of the Aeron Chair. “A departure from the padding of traditional office chairs, Aeron’s Pellicle material was like a new dawn; I wanted to capture that in my design by taking the chair out of the office and transforming it into a landscape.”
Graphic designer Felix Pfaffli can’t be held to a single style, instead he prefers experimenting and exploring new methods. Asked to create a poster for the Eames Molded Plastic Chair, Pfaffli decided on an simple approach that focuses the viewer’s attention on the form of the chair. “I realized that from a certain direction that I could transform the chair into the body of a beautiful woman with the addition of just three simple shapes.”
Genevieve Gauckler is a creator of eccentric characters, which she enjoys placing in seemingly everyday situations—in this case, sitting in a Setu Chair. “I began by making some 'serious' drafts, but realized I was in danger of being seriously boring, so I decided to sit one of my characters in the chair.”
