Michael Graves Product Design Collection

Few are credited with spearheading a single design movement; Michael Graves, well known throughout the world for design excellence, led three. The Henry Ford acquired Michael Graves Design’s extensive product design archive as part of its collection. In celebration of the acquisition, a selection of 21 artifacts is now on display inside Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

The Michael Graves Archive, consisting of finished products, models, prototypes and production samples spans the influential career of Michael Graves and the history of MGD. The 2,500+ object archive represents partnerships with Alessi, Target, Stryker, Disney, Steuben, Swid Powell, Sunar, Lenox, Dansk, Duravit, and Dornbracht, among others.

In addition to many high-end client relationships, Michael Graves Design’s revolutionary approach to common home products, known as “Art of the Everyday Object” solidified it as pioneers in the contemporary design industry. Debuted at Target in 1999, Michael Graves Design brought to market more than 2,000 products across 20 categories including kitchen electrics, gadgets, cleaning supplies, home décor, storage & organization, and more. The groundbreaking 15-year partnership with the retailer transformed mass merchandising strategy, elevated consumers expectations for design, made Target a design destination, and elevated design to the center of corporate strategy.