Yesterday, Fast Company’s Co.Design blog wrote a nice entry about our website for Herman Miller called Discovering Design. The site is several years old, but it’s a good testament to the staying power of good design - the website, but of course the products themselves.

An interesting part of this project was how it came to be. Vexed by the large number of mid-century modern furniture knock-offs in the market, Herman Miller wanted to do something about it. An advertising agency had developed a campaign called Get Real, as in, you should buy the real stuff. We were contracted to build the web version of the campaign.

Our feeling was that this was not a campaign, rather an overall philosophy that Herman Miller was trying to convey. There were many collectors of original mid-century modern classics out there willing to pay top dollar, so who wanted to buy a fake? We concluded that the main difference between those willing to pay and those who didn’t  - in addition to fatness of their wallet - was education. Mid-century modern furniture collectors are connoisseurs, they know the history and thrive on the stories. They admire the inventors - Charles Eames, George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi, Alexander Girard. Herman Miller has a history of great relationships with these designers, and great stories to tell. The Herman Miller archives are a treasure trove of great material that has never seen the light of day. Our recommendation was to build an online web exhibit, Discovering Design, based on this idea: People who would explore and learn about the history will value the original products. That was about 7 years go.

As a design exercise, the site was kind of experiment integrating XML feeds into a Flash movie (new at the time), but moreover it was exploring non-linear storytelling online. The site has claimed many accolades, from design organizations to Dwell Magazine, and now Fast Company. 

We’re thrilled to see how great design lasts.