‘M’ Logo Remains Untouched
Herman Miller’s refreshed brand identity, including the latest evolution of its logo and wordmark, is being rolled out now across all touchpoints. The pioneering furniture firm worked with Order Design to develop a complete set of brand standards including a new color palette, a wordmark set in Söhne (courtesy of Klim Type Foundry), and an important role for the company’s famous ‘M’ logo, originally designed by Irving Harper in 1946. “The brand refresh comes one year after the 100th anniversary of Herman Miller. Brooklyn NY-based Order, headed by partners Jesse Reed and Hamish Smythe, says that they were inspired by the client’s experimentation with modernist design throughout the 1960s, a period when John Massey played a key role in establishing Herman Miller’s corporate identity. To that end, Order elected to revive the use of Helvetica from the period — replacing the current FF Meta typeface — by selecting Söhne typography for the rebrand — “Söhne is the next iteration of Helvetica,” explains Reed, but more adaptable to today’s print and screens. The palette is brighter, based on Herman Miller’s iconic red but also including 14 other shades used during the mid-century modernist period. The ‘M’ symbol is “freed” from the circle it had been ensconced in but is otherwise left largely untouched and used more widely as a graphic element. “The M symbol has stayed consistent through every iteration of the identity… so changing it was never an option,” states Order design director Garrett Corcoran. Kelsey Keith, brand creative director at Herman Miller, concludes: “There are elements of the Herman Miller identity that I hope are more legible to the public because of this new design system: boldness, joy, tactility, respect for the past with an eye toward the future.”
