Gilbert Rohde: Modern Design for Modern Living

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Few designers did more to change the appearance of postwar American interiors than Gilbert Rohde (1894-1944). In her new book, Phyllis Ross traces Rohde's career at the Herman Miller Furniture Co. in the 1930s and 1940s through the remainder of his brief but influential career. According to Ross, Rohde is the critical connecting force between the early emergence of American modernism and the distinctively American look of the postwar era. In addition to being a designer, Rohde also excelled at being an educator, mass marketer and advocate for the designer's role in manufacturing and the adoption of new materials. Rohde was the first in the American design industry to reposition the sales message from selling furniture to selling a lifestyle - with the imprimatur of designer branding. He rethought nearly every aspect of Herman Miller's merchandizing -- from showroom to catalog to advertising -- by writing copy, supervising photography and selecting typefaces. He even designed sales areas of department stores such as the upscale Halle's in Cleveland.

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