Overview

Designers

George Nelson

Product Designer George Nelson

Products by George Nelson

  • Three white Pendant lamps. Three white Pendant lamps. Select to go to the Nelson Bubble Lamps product page.
    Nelson Bubble Lamps Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Saucer Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Saucer Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Bell Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Bell Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Cigar Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Cigar Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Orbit Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Orbit Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Ball Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Ball Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Roll Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Roll Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Angled Sphere Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Angled Sphere Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Pear Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Pear Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Apple Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Apple Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Propeller Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Propeller Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Lantern Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Lantern Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Saucer CrissCross Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Saucer CrissCross Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Cigar CrissCross Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Cigar CrissCross Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Pear CrissCross Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Pear CrissCross Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • A white hanging lamp. A white hanging lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Ball CrissCross Bubble Pendant product page.
    Nelson Ball CrissCross Bubble Pendant Herman Miller
  • Three white hanging lamps. Three white hanging lamps. Select to go to the Nelson Triple Bubble Lamp Fixture product page.
    Nelson Triple Bubble Lamp Fixture Herman Miller
  • A white wall sconce. A white wall sconce. Select to go to the Nelson Cigar Wall Sconce product page.
    Nelson Cigar Wall Sconce Herman Miller
  • A white wall sconce. A white wall sconce. Select to go to the Nelson Ball Wall Sconce product page.
    Nelson Ball Wall Sconce Herman Miller
  • A white wall sconce. A white wall sconce. Select to go to the Nelson Saucer Wall Sconce product page.
    Nelson Saucer Wall Sconce Herman Miller
  • A white wall sconce. A white wall sconce. Select to go to the Nelson Pear Wall Sconce product page.
    Nelson Pear Wall Sconce Herman Miller
  • A white table lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Cigar Tripod Lamp product page.
    Nelson Cigar Tripod Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white table lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Ball Tripod Lamp product page.
    Nelson Ball Tripod Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white table lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Pear Tripod Lamp product page.
    Nelson Pear Tripod Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white Table Lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Lantern Tripod Lamp product page.
    Nelson Lantern Tripod Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white table lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Cigar Lotus Table Lamp product page.
    Nelson Cigar Lotus Table Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white table lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Ball Lotus Table Lamp product page.
    Nelson Ball Lotus Table Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white table lamp. A white table lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Pear Lotus Table Lamp product page.
    Nelson Pear Lotus Table Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white floor lamp. A white floor lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Cigar Lotus Floor Lamp product page.
    Nelson Cigar Lotus Floor Lamp Herman Miller
  • A white floor lamp. A white floor lamp. Select to go to the Nelson Pear Lotus Floor Lamp product page.
    Nelson Pear Lotus Floor Lamp Herman Miller

When writing about the course of his remarkable 50-year career, George Nelson described a series of creative “zaps”, moments of out-of-the-blue inspiration “when the solitary individual finds that he is connected with a reality he never dreamed of”.

An early zap came in the 1930s, when he was an architectural student in Rome. Before returning home, an idea struck him: he would travel Europe and interview leading modern architects, hoping to publish the articles in the US. He succeeded, and in the process introduced the US design community to the European avant-garde. This set in motion a sequence of what he called “lucky” career breaks that were really the inevitable outcomes of his brilliance as a designer, teacher and author.

The first break was being named an editor of Architectural Forum magazine. Working on a story there in 1942, he was looking at aerial photos of blighted cities when – zap! – he developed the concept of the pedestrian shopping centre in city centres, which was unveiled in the Saturday Evening Post.

Soon after, another zap led to the Storagewall, the first modular storage system and a forerunner of systems furniture. The Storagewall was showcased in a 1945 Life magazine article, causing a sensation in the furniture industry. Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree saw the article and was so impressed that he paid a visit to Nelson in New York and convinced him to be his director of design, which spurred Nelson to found his design firm, George Nelson & Associates. The warm, personal and professional relationship between Nelson and De Pree resulted in a stunning range of products, from the playful Marshmallow Sofa to the first L-shaped desk, a precursor of today’s workstation.

Nelson once wrote that Herman Miller “is not playing follow-the-leader”. That’s one reason why George Nelson & Associates worked with Herman Miller for over 25 years as they shepherded design into the modern era.

“Design is a response to social change.”

– George Nelson

During this same period, George Nelson & Associates also created many landmark designs of products, showrooms and exhibitions for a variety of companies and organisations.

Nelson said that for a designer to deal creatively with human needs, “he must first make a radical, conscious break with all values he identifies as anti-human”. Designers also must constantly be aware of the consequences of their actions on people and society. In fact, he declared that: “Total design is nothing more or less than a process of relating everything to everything.” So he said that rather than specialising, designers must cultivate a broad base of knowledge and understanding.

Nelson did so as few are able and, with the help of well-timed “zaps”, he helped to define modern, humane design.

Awards/Recognition

Permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Lifetime Achievement Award, American Institute of Graphic Arts, 1991

Scholar in Residence, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Design, 1984

Chairman, International Design Conference in Aspen, 1965, 1982

Good Design Award, Museum of Modern Art, 1954

Trailblazer Award, National Home Furnishings League, 1954

Best Office of the Year, New New York Times, 1953

Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of New York, 1953

Prix de Rome for architecture, 1932

Distribution Rights

Herman Miller and Vitra are two independent companies with a common interest in the designs and legacies of Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Alexander Girard.

In 1956, Vitra became Herman Miller’s licensee for continental Europe. After the initial success of the endeavour, a joint venture was formed under the name Herman Miller AG to further the business. The cooperation was accompanied by a warm personal relationship between the De Pree family of Herman Miller and the Fehlbaum family of Vitra. For over two decades the companies successfully collaborated to establish a market for good design, and further the designs of Eames, Nelson and Girard in Europe. When the partnership was dissolved in 1984, the rights to the designs of Eames, Nelson and Girard were assigned to Vitra for Europe and the Middle East, while the Herman Miller name and programme were retained by Herman Miller.

The two companies continue to have a friendly relationship and together with the descendants of Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Alexander Girard keep the spirit of these great designers alive.