George Nelson (born 1908 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA; died 1986 in New York, USA) studied architecture at Yale University. In 1944, he became Design Director at Herman Miller. Holding this position until 1972, he emerged as a key figure in American design and brought Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard to Herman Miller. In 1957, Vitra founder Willi Fehlbaum concluded his first licensing agreement with Herman Miller for furniture production in Europe. Over the decades of collaboration with Vitra, a close friendship developed between George Nelson and Rolf Fehlbaum.

Since 1947, Nelson ran his own design studio, George Nelson Associates Inc., developing projects and objects in collaboration with highly regarded colleagues. Several of these works are now considered icons of Mid‑Century Modern design.