Herman Miller: Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub

Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub both studied industrial design at the Schwabisch Gmund University in Germany, graduating in 1992. A friendship began during an internship in New York in 1990. Four years later they co-founded a design studio, Jehs+Laub, in Stuttgart. In the years since, they’ve designed furniture, tableware, lighting and interiors for a range of companies including Cassina, Danskina, Fritz Hansen and Mercedes-Benz, among others.

As German designers steeped in the Bauhaus tradition, the design vocabulary of Jehs+Laub – whimsical, sculptural and unique – is about staying true to the form, materials and function of the object. “How a design looks should not be far from what it does,” Jürgen says. “So we resist styling. Parts of a design that are nice but not necessary fall away. Function brings its own aesthetic, and that has a high outcome.”

The natural alignment between this design philosophy and Herman Miller’s own design DNA made for a natural partnership. “If you look at the Eames Soft Pad Group, the way the chairs are both handcrafted and industrial, this is very much Herman Miller,” Markus says. “So what is already in the DNA of Herman Miller – starting in a very industrial way and then getting more human, more emotional in the expression of a design – that is something we very much want our furniture to achieve.”

Seeking partners that share common design values has always been important to the duo, as has their desire to learn from other cultures. While studying design in Germany rooted them in a certain school of thought, as Markus reminisces, “The internship in the United States was a completely different world.” They’ve since sought consciously to work with clients from around the world who complement their perspective. “We realised that our German design sensibilities are very useful, but we are shaped by our experiences of other cultures like Italian or American,” Jürgen says. “We always want to learn more. We are curious. In knowing others, we develop ourselves.”