Hasta La Ideas

Gary Smith (left) and the Alcove Chair, one of six prototypes that came out of a Herman Miller-sponsored studio at Cranbrook Academy of Art last year.

This is the seventh post in our interview series with ten influential I.D. curators, retailers and creative directors. Yesterday, we talked to MoMA curator Paola Antonelli.

In the annals of American furniture design, few brands are as storied as Herman Miller, which was responsible for producing numerous iconic pieces by midcentury giants like George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi and Charles and Ray Eames—and which continues to break new ground in furniture, lighting and sustainable manufacturing practices. For more than two decades, Gary Smith has been one of the key personnel responsible for keeping the Zeeland, Michigan-based company at the forefront of the industry. As Vice President of Product Design and Exploration, he frequently interacts with new and established industrial designers and is constantly seeking design that aligns with the ethos of Herman Miller. Smith previously worked for toy giant Hasbro, designing products (including Mr. Potato Head) for infants and preschoolers.

How do you find out about new designers?

It’s a rich mix—there’s not a linear process. We pay attention to what’s going on, we look at awards, we invite designers to send us links to their web presence. We try to be out there in the world, at conferences and shows, and meet people in person. We’re at ICFF, NeoCon, Orgatec; we go to the Salone in Milan. Everything from design conferences to the consumer electronics show in Vegas—we’re going to all of these. Invariably, because you’re Herman Miller, if you’re walking around and you’ve got that little red dot on, design finds you.

There’s also word of mouth, social networking, digital media. We sponsor university projects, so I get to know young designers that way. A lot of times we get recommendations from clients. We also have a lot of designers in the company. Folks like Ben Watson and Chris Hacker, for example, who are more involved in brand and facilities design. They have their entire careers-worth of relationships.

We also find out about new designers when they send us unsolicited submissions: “Hey Herman Miller, you should make my coffee table.” We’re actually not interested in those. What I am interested in is a conversation about how their work illustrates their thinking. In other words, I’m interested in them, not their thing. We work exclusively from an outbound design brief. That means Herman Miller thinks deeply about where it’s relevant in the world and the problems that exist, and we take our point of view and we write it in a brief. Then I give that brief to the designer who possesses the gifts I think most match the problem I’m trying to address.

What kinds of design are you looking for at the moment?

To answer this requires understanding what you mean by design. What I mean by design is human-centered problem solving. I’m not looking for styles. What I am looking for is a designer who has shown discipline to devote themselves to an idea, which demonstrates conviction, perseverance and a thought process.

So, first, I’m looking for design that is thoughtful, that embraces an intellectual thought process, and is foundationally premised in human-centered problem solving. Second, design that illustrates that the designer understands and has a sense of restraint; that style is subservient to the problem. I’m not saying everything needs to be austere, and I’m not making a comment about style. I’m simply saying that when style becomes the point, I don’t find that to be very legitimate design.

Finally, I’m looking for designs that show a command of material choices and an understanding of operational processes. What is it made of? “I don’t know but it’s sure beautiful”—that’s not a good answer. If that chair is made of plastic, I’d like the designer to understand the material and the process. If it’s injection molded: flow, sink, gating, ejection, and draft. If that same chair is made of concrete then I want to know that that chair is not intended to be mobile. That’s the kind of design I’m looking for.

The Cranbrook students were challenged to design furniture that embodied a “new vision of physical rest in a professional setting.”

(more…)