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Discussing, and looking for, what is relevant in, and the relevance of, graphic design.
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Displaying opinions, and focusing solely, on corporate and brand identity work.
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Coralling the most relevant and creative on- and off-line bits that pertain to the design community – and said community is openly invited and encouraged to add their hard-earned links.
Knoll
Knoll (and Herman Miller) was the USA’s principal design-led manufacturer of furniture. It is recognized internationally for creating workplace furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. The company’s commitment to innovation and modern design has yielded a comprehensive portfolio of office systems, seating, files and storage, tables and desks, wood casegoods, textiles and accessories.
Knoll was founded by German-born Hans Knoll in 1946. He attempted to start a modern furniture business in England. However, his avant-guarde leanings weren’t accepted in Britain, and in 1937, he moved to the United States. He founded the Hans G. Knoll Furniture Company in New York; and with his second wife, Florence Schust, he set up Knoll Associates. Schust was a student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art where she met Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia. At the Illinois Institute of Technology, she knew Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and later worked with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.
Through her contacts, the company had links with leading figures in architecture and design and Knoll became insturmental in introducing European work into the USA. Their idea was to create a ‘collection’ by promoting designers by name and paying them royalties on pieces sold.
The company’s most famous products are the Mies designs. In 1948, Mies granted the production rights to his Bahaus era work. Knoll also became the exclusive manufacturer of Breuer's furniture designs. The designs were origionally intended for office use and were absorbed into coporate America, furnishing reception areas and exclusive suites. Making Knoll a leader in defining modern standards of good taste.
Knoll also commissioned desins such as work by Isamu Noguchi and Eero Saarinen‘s womb chair.
Hans Knoll was killed in a car accident in 1955 in Havana, Cuba, but Florence Knoll continued to run the company. It maintained its high artistic standards but was not financially sucessful. In 1959, it was taken over by Art Metal and in 1977 by General Felt.
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Some content has been gathered from existing sources and has not been altered in any way; in most cases the source is attributed.
All official descriptions and biographies are publicly available and remain the property of their authors.