Herman Miller, Inc.
Corporate Client, Holland, MI, 1998

Herman Miller, Inc. is a leading multinational provider of office furniture, furniture systems, and furniture management services. Since 1923 it has been the source of major innovations in residential and office environments.

 

 

 

In the Fall of 1998, Bonny Lhotka, Karin Schminke and Dorothy Krause were invited to spend two weeks at the company's award-winning design center consulting on new work environment concepts. Employing techniques in digital imagery, and customized pattern and color, the artists enhanced visual surfaces and created a sense of  "place" in open work environments. The initiative's aim is a more pleasant, yet efficient work environment that facilitates new creative visuals and boosts morale.

 

 

 

As a separate project, the artists also created a visual history of the Herman Miller corporate culture. Using the company's products as the surface medium, the project presents a consistent visual progression, helping visitors and employees appreciate Herman Miller's current activity as it relates to the people and products of the past.

 

 

 

 

 

For their work at Herman Miller, the artists used Intergraph Computer Systems' state-of-the-art Extreme TDZ ViZual Workstations. Powered by dual 400MHz Pentium II processors with 1 GB or RAM and an 18GB RAID array it enabled them to process the memory intensive imaging functions without slowing the creative process, Calcomp's Creation Station Pro pressure-sensitive digitizing tablet with cordless mouse was used as their input device. Their concepts and designs were printed with an Encad 60Ó 600E printer, using a 3M Cactus RIP, onto a variety of Encad and Rexam media. Epson's 11" x 17" Expression 836XL Scanner and Olympus D-600L digital camera were used to capture images for input and to document their residency.