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Herman Miller, Inc., the leading global designer, manufacturer and distributor of office systems, furnishings and strategic services that support work environments, has tapped Context-Based Research Group for an extensive ethnographic project.
Best known as innovators of revolutionary designs, including the first modern office furniture system and more recently the Aeron chair, Herman Miller, based in Zeeland, Mich., has literally changed the face of the commercial workspace, and is renowned for its devotion to focused problem-solving research and design.
While the particulars of its ethnographic assignment for Context are proprietary information, the Herman Miller project is the largest yet assigned to the Baltimore team of cultural anthropologists, said Dr. Robbie Blinkoff, the firm’s Principal Anthropological Officer and Managing Partner.
“The scope of this assignment is larger than anything we’ve tackled before,”
Dr. Blinkoff said. “Herman Miller is taking another great step forward as a leader in workplace environments, and we’re excited to be part of something that could potentially be historic in the business world.”
Context is assembling an advisory board of industry and academic heavyweights, as well as drawing from its pool of 3,500 anthropologists world-wide, to undertake the study, which is expected to be completed by Spring 2003.
“This is an extremely important study for us,” said Jim Long, Herman Miller’s Director of Research. “We expect to find a number of significant insights about what makes some workplaces work much better than others. We also expect to get important insight into what will make great workplaces in the future. Ethnography has proven to be an excellent tool for generating these kinds of insights."
Dr. Blinkoff said he could not be more excited about the project.
“Herman Miller has been on the forefront of recognizing social change for decades,” Dr. Blinkoff said. “They’ve changed the way people relate to the workplace, the way they sit, the way they interact, everything. To an anthropologist, that’s thrilling.”
About Herman Miller Inc.
Herman Miller creates great places to work by researching, designing,
manufacturing, and distributing innovative interior furninshings that
support companies, organizations, and individuals all over the world.
The company's award-winning products, complemented by furniture_management
and strategic consulting services, generated over $1.46 billion in revenue
during fiscal 2002. Herman Miller is widely recognized both for its
innovative products and business practices, including the use of industry-
leading, customer-focused technology. Again in 2002 Herman Miller was named
"America's Most Admired" furniture company by Fortune magazine and included
in Forbes magazine's "Platinum List" of best-performing, large corporations.
The company trades on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol MLHR. For
additional information about the company visit the Herman Miller Investors'
Corner at hermanmiller.com.
About Context-Based Research Group
Context, a business unit of Baltimore marketing communications agency Carton
Donofrio Partners, is the world’s leading ethnographic research company. It
helps clients learn the truth about what customers actually do, not what
they say they do. Context employs a global network of more than 3,500
anthropologists, who work as cultural insiders in their native culture and
language and observe people’s day-to-day experiences at home, work and play.
Context clients include Fortune 500 Companies like Adobe, American Express,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Campbell Soup Company, Eastman-Kodak, Fisher-Price,
Guinness, Johns Hopkins University, Procter & Gamble and Microsoft.
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