American Design 
20 February 2020
American Design 
125

Stephen Frykholm b.1942

Herman Miller Summer Picnic Posters, collection of twelve

1970-1981
screenprint in colors 39 h × 25 w in (99 × 63 cm)
estimate: $3,000–5,000
result: $6,250
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provenance: Acquired directly from Herman Miller by present owner
literature: Classic Herman Miller, Piña, pg. 180
Stephen Frykholm's posters for the annual Herman Miller Summer Picnic can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

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Every Day's a Picnic

Herman Miller Summer Picnic Posters by Stephen Frykholm

For 20 years, graphic designer Steven Frykholm created Herman Miller's annual company picnic poster. The bold and colorful designs are festive celebrations of summer and its seasonal attributes such as watermelon, sweet corn, ice cream and more. 

In 1970, Herman Miller offered the young Cranbrook graduate a position as the company’s first in-house graphic designer. Frykholm accepted and went to work immediately on his first assignment, designing the poster for Herman Miller’s annual company picnic. Frykholm's impressive tenure at the company – nearly 50 years – stands as a testament to his exceptional creativity and singular design aesthetic.

Today, Frykholm's posters can be found in several museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Read more about Frykholm and the picnic posters.

A good poster—a poster that is really communicating an idea—is still relevant. There are so many different kinds of posters: informational posters, promotional posters, commemorative posters. To me, a poster is really nothing more than a postage stamp, except big. And I think posters should be large.

Stephen Frykholm

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