Threads

Client Project
April 2016

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Threads
At the heart of the furniture manufacturer's legacy lies its iconic pieces and the visionary designers behind them, such as Alexander Girard, and Ray and Charles Eames. "Threads" is a presentation and conversation lead by former graphic designer Steve Frykholm and writer Clark Malcolm. They weave Herman Miller's rich history of design innovation, its embrace of new ideas and talents through captivating narratives that shaped Herman Miller's 111-year journey. Because of my illustrative portrait line style, I was commissioned to create illustrations tailored to complement the theme of "threads."

Because of my former work in simple line portraits and having already completed a portrait of Steve, I was approached to create a portrait of Clark. These portraits were seamlessly woven into promotional and presentation materials, tailored to complement the theme of "Threads."

  • + Portrait Illustration

  • + Style Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Illustration

  • My portrait series, formally called Facebook Friends started as a self initiated project illustrating my friends on Facebook. This endeavor evolved into illustrating portraits of speakers for CanUX Conference, and numerous portraits for friends and clients.An article titled "Face Behind the Faces" was written about me and the portrait series.

  • Art direction provided by Mark Beard. Promotional collateral and web materials developed by Herman Miller.

Nemschoff Healthcare

Client Project
May 2014

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Nemschoff Healthcare
Collaborated with Nemschoff, the healthcare devision of Herman Miller (now
MillerKnoll) to develop healthcare environmental illustrations for their Chicago showroom. Each illustration was designed to convey a visual narrative of how different healthcare environments supported both patients and hospital staff. Moreover, these illustrations were crafted to mirror the layout of their showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, serving as an informative and insightful guide for visitors to understand each application. 

  • + Isometric Illustration

  • + Concept Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Product Illustration

MillerKnoll – Planning Guide System Design

↓ Locale Planning Guide
Several layouts from the Locale product planning guide.

 

↓ Locale Isometric Illustrations
A selection of isometric illustrations from the Locale Planning Guide.

Client Project

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MillerKnoll – Planning Guide System Design
To support Herman Miller’s vision for an accessible and scalable planning resource, we were brought in to redesign their product planning guides from the ground up.

Informed by focused research, UX insights, creative exploration, and stakeholder input, the work moved into development. Over the next two years, I worked with three product development teams to define requirements, understand their product lines, create a flexible framework, and design layout concepts paired with a refined isometric illustration style.

Each planning guide required custom product illustrations paired with copy and callouts, all maintained consistently across the system. Categories such as storage, desking, screens, displays, tables, and accessories were represented with multiple illustration types—including product views, detail views, planning views, and electrical diagrams—complete with callouts and dimensions. Across each guide, over 300 isometric and plan view components were created to ensure comprehensive and consistent representation.

The redesigned framework refreshed MillerKnoll’s planning guides, enhanced search functionality, and introduced a clearer, more intuitive layout. The final implementation delivered a user-friendly, easily navigable, and scalable guide, accessible across electronic devices, with the added ability to download and print PDFs.

“Michael’s collaboration, creativity, and design expertise elevated the planning guides, creating a user-friendly system with clear layouts, comprehensive visuals, and a flexible framework that works across product lines.”

Marketing Manager
MillerKnoll

 

  • MillerKnoll
    Furniture Manufacturing Sector

  • Planning Guide System Design

  • + Design Direction
    + Design Strategy
    + Product Research
    + Qualitative Research
    + Technical & Isometric Illustrations
    + User Experience Design

Herman Miller Icon System

Client Project
May 2013

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Herman Miller Iconography System
Led the Workplace Knowledge Team at Herman Miller (presently MillerKnoll) in the development and design of an iconography system pivotal in delineating crucial research methodologies within their workflow. These icons were not only instrumental in establishing definitive research practices but also needed to adhered to Herman Miller's strict brand guidelines.

  • + Iconography System

  • + Creative Direction
    + Research
    + Concept Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Illustration