ALEXANDER GIRARD

Alexander Girard became Herman Miller's director of design for its textile division in 1952, a time when fabrics were purely functional and no fun at all--dull, drab, without pattern. "People got fainting fits if they saw bright, pure color," Girard said.

But he felt that color was just what fabrics needed, and Herman Miller gave him the freedom to express himself. With primary colors, concise geometric patterns, and a touch of humor, he injected joy and spontaneity into fabrics, making them a vibrant part of homes and offices. His designs perfectly complemented the progressive Herman Miller furniture designed by his friends, Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson.

Girard's work with Herman Miller continued into the 1970s, when he spiced up the Action Office system with a series of decorative panel fabrics.

Girard's risky, sometimes iconoclastic fabrics were inspired not by a vision of the future but by a love of traditional folk art. Avid collectors, he and his wife, Susan, surrounded themselves with pieces from over 100 countries. These colorful, whimsical objects inspired him and provided a framework for his designs.

The Girards' collection was so large--over 100,000 pieces--that in 1962, they established the Girard Foundation in Sante Fe to manage it. In 1978, the Girard Foundation donated the objects to the Sante Fe Museum of International Folk Art, where they remain the core of the world's most important collection of cross-cultural folk art.

VIA HERMAN MILLER