Herman Miller

DJ Depree in Eames
Lounge Chair

Aeron Chair

Michigan Star Furniture was stared in 1906 and had a focus in residential furniture. After quickly making his way to the top of the company, DJ Depree was made president in 1909. The company went up for sale shortly after that and Depree convinced his father-in-law, Herman Miller, to buy it. Depree continued to run the company after changing its name to Herman Miller in honor of his father-in-law.

In 1933 a designer named Gilbert Rohde introduced the idea of modern furniture to the company. Ray and Charles Eames were two very important designers that contributed a lot to Herman Miller. Not only were they furniture designers, they also designed different fabrics. They designed many iconic pieces by using a method of pressing layers of plywood into different molds to create extremely durable furniture. Robert Propst was hired on a a researcher for Herman Miller. He focused strongly on office design and as a result he created the Action Office system in order to increase the productivity in companies and the well-being of employees. Another important contributor to Herman Miller was Bill Stumph. He was the first to look at people's pressure points and question why people were uncomfortable sitting in their office chairs. Due to his research, he designed the Aeron chair which features a mesh seat as well as a mesh back rest.