William Eugene Stumpf (March 1, 1936 – August 30, 2006) was an American furniture designer who helped design the Aeron, Embody and Ergon chairs for

Herman Miller Herman Miller, officially MillerKnoll, Inc., is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings, including the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is al ...

. It was at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

where Stumpf, working with specialists in orthopedic and vascular medicine, conducted extensive research into

ergonomics Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...

, specifically in the way people sit. In 1974, Herman Miller commissioned him to apply his research to office seating. Two years later, the Ergon chair was introduced.

Biography

Stumpf was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. His father died when he was 13, and his mother, a gerontology nurse, relocated the family to

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, Winona County, in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota ...

, to be near her family. He served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

and then earned a bachelor's in industrial design from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, and a master's in environmental design from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. Stumpf's association with Herman Miller began in 1970 when he joined the staff of the Herman Miller Research Corporation. After establishing his own firm in 1972, Stumpf created the Ergon chair, the first ergonomic work chair. Later, in collaboration with Don Chadwick, he produced the groundbreaking Equa and iconic Aeron chairs. He also was principal designer for the Ethospace system. Stumpf's death at age 70 was attributed to complications from abdominal surgery. He was married to Sharon Stumpf, and has five grandchildren: Gabriella, Erin, Max, David and Julia.

Publications

* Friedman, Mildred, Ed. ''A Serious Chair — Design Quarterly 126''. Minneapolis and Cambridge: The Walker Art Center and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984. * Stumpf, William. ''Ice Palace That Melted Away: How Good Design Enhances Our Lives.'' New York: Pantheon Books, 1998. * Amy Auscherman, Sam Gawe, Leon Ransmeier, eds. "Ergon Chairs 1976" in ''Herman Miller A Way of Living''. London: Phaidon Press, 2019. 430-487

References

External links

Staff and Wire Reports. (2006, September 2). ''Bill Stumpf, 70; Designer Helped Create the Aeron Office Chair''. The Los Angeles Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stumpf, Bill American furniture designers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 1936 births 2006 deaths

Biography

Publications

References

Further reading

External links