By Rob Kirkbride
The Grand Rapids Press

ZEELAND — Designer Doug Ball was looking for the Holy Grail of the office-furniture industry — a cubicle system that gives a worker privacy, but still allows open space planning.

He sketched his idea on the back of an air sickness bag while en route from his home in Canada to a meeting with designers at Herman Miller Inc.

The result of the sketch was My Studio Environments, a cubicle system that turns walls inside out. Privacy walls and screens surround clusters of desks.

My Studio is the highest-profile cubicle system Herman Miller has launched since the dot-com bust five years ago.

“I see it as a future office,” Ball said. “The individual (work) stations feel more like the inside of an automobile or camper. They are designed to work.”

The bold features of the product are a sign of the industry’s improving mood. The days of launching exciting new furniture designs are back after being stalled for years by dwindling sales and profits.

All of West Michigan’s major furniture makers will announce new products at the NeoCon trade show at Merchandise Mart in Chicago next month.

Herman Miller also is launching Vivo, a lower-priced cubicle system.

And the company is unveiling Leaf, its first foray into lighting. Leaf is a sculptural LED desk lamp designed by Yves Behar. The list price is $525.

Steelcase Inc. is launching two chairs at NeoCon.