The name Herman Miller has long been associated with modern furniture. Working with legendary designers George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, the company has produced what are now considered icons of industrial design. Much like Icsid, who promotes design for a better world, Herman Miller is devoted to “work to design and build a better world around you.”

Directors from the Global Work, Applied Placemaking and Future Technology departments at Herman Miller share their thoughts and experiences below on providing the most functional workspaces for individuals and organisations. Share your own experiences and tell us what your office is like using the hashtag#worksmart on Facebook and Twitter.


Q: Let’s start with what’s happening now. Are you noticing a certain trend in office spaces right now? What are people purchasing? Is there a certain aesthetic that’s being reproduced? 

The significant shift we are seeing in offices is a greater focus on creating spaces that support and enhance collaboration and productivity. This is less about an aesthetic or a specific product, and more about strategically providing settings that encourage more synergistic work. Unlike the old sea of cubicles or reactionary open plan design, we are seeing more companies move toward creating a balanced office with a mix of different work settings that workers and teams can move through as it suits their workday—enabling people choices based on the task at hand, or desired output of the work.

As a part of developing Living Office, Herman Miller’s new approach to human-centered workplaces, Greg Parsons, Herman Miller’s creative director for Global Work, and his team assimilated diverse views on the subject of what motivates people at work, and found that workers need a sense of security, belonging, autonomy, achievement, status, and purpose. The most effective office spaces support a balanced variety of work environments that also balance the psychological needs of people with the demands of the work being done.

From a facilities and maintenance standpoint, it can be appealing for companies to simply install the same set of desks or cubicles across an entire floor. We find that it’s actually more efficient to install different types of work environments in a single space. “We used to have all these individual cubes for everyone in the workplace and 70 percent were empty. We find people prefer to move around rather than have a specific space that they’re tethered to,” Parsons says. Spaces that are well utilised are more economical, Parsons argues. “You can spend less by delivering settings people actually want and value,” he adds.


Q: Building a cohesive and functional office space is all about balance – of public and private areas, quiet and less-quiet spaces. Where does Herman Miller begin when working with a new client? 

Achieving the right balance for any client’s workspace is a key component of the Living Office philosophy. Herman Miller works with all of our clients and their design firms to help bring awareness of what is possible. Many organisations don’t expect enough from their workplace as a strategic tool and our efforts are to inspire and encourage a new level of potential.

The first step toward achieving a Living Office that enriches both individuals and the organisation is developing a common vision that helps clients think creatively, devise strategy, and gain organisational alignment as they develop a new workplace.

Through observation and on-site research, we learn with our clients about what really happens in their current workplace. The data we collect helps clients draw conclusions to inform design and improve business outcomes and the lives of their workers. We offer strategic and tactical support to help clients transform change into an opportunity for improving their organisation as they transition to a new workplace. As the needs of an office and workforce continuously evolve, we also offer a unique mix of methodologies that can help clients measure the success of their transition and identify areas for improvement post-move.

At the highest level of customer engagement, our Performance Environments Group offers a comprehensive and proprietary suite of services to help clients create a Living Office that enhances performance, engagement, and well-being.


Q: What are some of the biggest challenges when designing a workspace?

Unlike in the era of one-size-fits-all cubicle farms, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for a Living Office. Each is unique, based on the distinctive purpose, character, and activities of its inhabitants. One of the biggest challenges is engaging diverse stakeholder involvement to assure that a purposeful vision is the foundation from which the design evolves.  Lori Gee, Herman Miller’s Vice President of Applied Placemaking, says, “Many still consider workplace design an exercise in how things look, rather than a catalyst to how people work. Our approach is to develop methodologies to help organisations thoughtfully support their aspirations of who they are trying to become and how they want to work.

Q: Designing or re-designing an office is often an expensive undertaking. How does Herman Miller ensure that the space can grow alongside a team and sustain years of daily wear and tear? 

Herman Miller works with clients and their design firms to develop solutions that will grow with the organisation and address their changing needs. The design of our workplace products considers non-obsolescence and systemic growth, ensuring that furniture systems can adapt as technology evolves and new needs emerge. Our first systems product, Action Office, was introduced in 1968, yet it is still specified by designers as part of Living Office solutions being installed today. Newer systems such as Public Office Landscape by Yves Béhar and Locale by Industrial Facility were designed with this same consideration for adaptability and future change.

Ensuring that we deliver the highest quality standards in product durability and performance is essential to the Herman Miller approach. To ensure that all of our products will hold up to the daily demands of any workplace, we put both materials and finished products through rigorous testing.

All materials undergo two forms of testing. Initial testing is done when a new product, process, or supplier is accepted. These tests lead to the development of quality standards, which our suppliers take responsibility for meeting. Quality is checked at suppliers, as materials are received in our facilities, and throughout production.

When our test equipment permits it, our test procedures conform to the methods established by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). If not, we try to approximate the same test condition with different equipment in our Test Lab. Herman Miller strives to meet and exceed all industry standards pertaining to our products.

When we are satisfied that a material or product meets our standards, we deliver on that promise to our clients with our 12-year/3-shift warranty.


Q: How do you integrate advances in technology into a client’s products and spaces? 

Recognising that technology is constantly evolving, and that a static solution may not adapt to future needs, we develop products to accommodate changing technology, rather than prescribing solutions and embedding them in the furniture itself.  Ryan Anderson, Director of Future Technology at Herman Miller, says, “We collaborate with a broad array of technology leaders to understand how technology trends are impacting work and the workplace. This enables us to reimagine how the workplace of the future will support and leverage technology, which in turn informs our product designs.”

Designing to accommodate changing office technology is not new at Herman Miller. In the late 1940’s, George Nelson designed the first L-shaped desk to accommodate the rising popularity of electric typewriters. In 1969, Jack Kelley, a researcher/designer for what was then known as the Herman Miller Research Corporation, designed the first furniture-based mouse pad to accommodate the world’s first computer mouse, invented by Douglas Engelbart of the Stanford Research Institute. More recently, we have responded to the rise of smart devices in workplaces with Logic Power Access Solutions that provide ready access to USB power outlets on any type of work surface.

While the convergence of IT and corporate real estate strategies is sometimes ambiguous, we are fortunate to collaborate with companies such as Google, Samsung, Crestron, Logitech and many others to be at the forefront of how important IT investments should inform facility design and furniture application. As an example, our prototype Living Office meeting space, designed in collaboration with Microsoft, anticipates the rising use of large touch displays such as SurfaceHub, which launched this month.


Q: How do you think design innovation has impacted the workplace? Are businesses more productive; are employees happier, more creative, and collaborative?

When workplaces are created thoughtfully, with attention to the needs of both individuals and the organisation, the results are clear. Great workplace design accomplishes the goals listed, but it requires recognising that the space and the products that support it are not simply an expense but an opportunity for strategic investment to attract and retain talent and enable people, and the organisation, to perform at their best.

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