The Herman Miller Office Furniture Story

Herman Miller is among the best known and trusted manufacturers of office furniture in the United States, having been in the business of furniture making since the early 1920s. It is in fact this company that is credited with the invention of the office cubicle (also known as the action office); so far reaching has been the influence of this company.

Having been consistently recognized as one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies”, and having graced the top of the list for Furniture companies for the past 18 consecutive years the company and its products are known for their sustainability as well as ergonomic design.

The office furniture products that are designed and produced by Herman Miller are known to be some of the most popular in the market. Known to have substantial recyclable material used to make the products, they also use energy efficient manufacturing processes using ecologically friendly design.

Ergonomic design of their products is another area that the Herman Miller Company claims to be very focused on, with design starting with the person, with the products and their application coming later.

The aim of the company is to provide the consumer with products that enable work in the safest and most effective manner in a health positive environment and also to help people remain motivated towards their work.

Ergonomic research for the past 35 years has resulted in some of their most popular products. Among the concepts that their product aim to achieve is the “Thrive Portfolio” which tries to help people feel better and ultimately work better.

The connection between good health and higher productivity is established by research so that it makes sense to design products that boost good health. So whether it is seating, lighting or desk and table requirements, the aim is to make products safer and more comfortable to help people “thrive”.

The idea is to be able to provide products and solutions for all kinds of environments; be it offices and other work places or even schools and hospitals.

Making sure that products are optimized for safety and health makes workers happier, and also ensures that there are fewer workdays lost to work related stress and injury. So by focusing on the health and happiness of the end user, there is the attempt to appeal to the bottom line of the buyer.

It was way back in 1976 that the company came out with their Ergon Chair; after which a number of ergonomically designed items have been produced, such as the Mirra Chair, the Envelope Desk, concept lighting solutions etc.