Irving Harper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Missing required parameter 1=month! , 1915 |
| Occupation(s) | Industrial Designer, Architect, Author, Editor, Teacher |
| Years active | 1936-2001 |
Irving Harper (1915-) is a noted 20th century industrial designer.[1] While working for George Nelson Associates, Inc. on designs for Herman Miller furniture Harper became one of the most prolific designers of the modernist style.[2] Among his important designs is the Herman Miller company logo, and the company's Marshmallow sofa.[3]
Irving Harper worked as a draftsman for the Gilbert Rohde's office during the 1930's.[4] While there he was responsible for the creation of the Plexiglas Exhibit, the Anthracite exhibit, and the Home Furnishings Focal exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair.[5] Leaving Rohde's, he worked as an interior designer for noted industrial designer Raymond Loewy at the Raymond Loewy Associates office, designing interiors in the company's department store division.[6]
In the 1940s Irving Harper met George Nelson. In 1947 he was offered a job as an interior designer by George Nelson and jumped at it, joining the team of George Nelson Associates, Inc. Initially Irving Harper was mostly responsible for designing trade advertising for the Herman Miller furniture account.[7] In 1947 Harper designed the logo for Herman Miller, Inc. Never trained as a graphic artist, Harper based the logo around a large letter "M", for Miller.[8] At first the logo was in wood-grain, since wood figured prominently in Herman Miller furniture. Harper states, "I continued to use the M and refined it as the ads went on. The Herman Miller logo was something they got for free, and they loved it." He chuckles. "There was no project to do a logo. It was probably the cheapest logo campaign in advertising history." Harper also was responsible for the textile prints used by Nelson's studio.[9]
Later Nelson got the Howard Miller Clock Co. account, and Irving Harper was given the responsibility of handling it.[10] Harper decided to create clocks that were a piece of sculpture. "To omit numbers and have an abstract object that moved on the wall was something no one was doing at the time". He would design a group of about eight clocks once or twice a year , which were sent to Howard Miller Clock Co. Most were put into production.[11]
In 1954 Irving Harper was introduced to a salesman from a Long Island plastics company. The salesman offered a product that created 12 inch diameter self-skinning discs. George Nelson embraced the idea as a way to manufacture low-cost furniture.[12] Over a weekend Harper designed a sofa incorporating 18 of the discs in a whimsical pattern. The salesman's product didn't live up to expectations, but Harper's design was put into production by Herman Miller as the Marshmallow sofa.[13] Today the Marshmallow sofa is considered one of the 20th century's most iconic modernst designs, with originals routinely selling for more than $15,000.[14]
Irving Harper worked for George Nelson Associates, Inc. for 17 years. During his time with the firm most of Harper's designs were attributed to George Nelson, as was the company's practice. John Pile, a designer for the firm in the 1950s, explains, "George's attitude was that it was okay for individual designers to be given credit in trade publications, but for the consumer world, the credit should always be to the firm, not the individual. He didn't always follow through on that policy though."[15]
Among the uncredited designs Irving Harper created while working for Nelson is the Herman Miller "Ball clock".[16]
Irving Harper left George Nelson Associates, Inc. in 1964. Together with Phillip George they started Harper+George, a design company. The firm created designs for Braniff Airlines, Jack Lenor Larsen, and Hallmark Cards, among many others.[17]