We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Merchandising the Modern: Gilbert Rohde at Herman Miller.
- Authors
Ross, Phyllis
- Abstract
From 192 to 1944, as design consultant to the Herman Miller Furniture Company in Zeeland, Michigan, Gilbert Rohde (1894-1944) both introduced modern design to the corporation and played a significant rote in its merchandising. This article discusses the innovative techniques Rohde developed to promote his modern, and in particular modular, furniture to store buyers, retailers and consumers. Through catalogues, sales bulletins, showrooms and publicity, a campaign was launched to explain the modular concept and to demonstrate its advantages for twentieth-century living. For Herman Miller's retail franchisees, Rohde provided comprehensive specifications for store displays in order to ensure the correct presentation of the company's products. By 1944, the robust consumer acceptance of Rohde's modem furniture enabled Herman Miller to position itself as the pre-eminent American manufacturer of modern furniture. Rohde's strategies laid the foundation for the future direction of Herman Miller and the success it achieved in the post-war era.
- Subjects
ZEELAND (Mich.); MICHIGAN; MERCHANDISING; INDUSTRIAL design; HOME furnishings; HERMAN Miller Inc.; ROHDE, Gilbert
- Publication
Journal of Design History, 2004, Vol 17, Issue 4, p359
- ISSN
0952-4649
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jdh/17.4.359