George Nelson was born in the USA in 1908 and graduated from Yale University in 1928. Nelson originally had no intention of becoming an architect but happened upon the Yale architecture school by accident when seeking shelter from a storm. Nelson achieved some early recognition while still an undergraduate and had some work published in Pencil Points and Architecture magazine. Nelson was to quickly to become a modernist voice arguing against the status quo stating too many concessions were made to the commercial forces within the design industry. Nelson believed that the purity of the design should come first, that it was the responsibility of the designer to improve the world. Following this belief to its natural conclusion Nelson went on to become Director of Design for Herman Miller guiding it through its most prolific modernist period, he also ran his own studio which designed many of the twentieth century's most iconic and enduring furniture.