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Innovative furniture maker Herman Miller, producer of several midcentury icons, is the subject of an exhibit opening Friday at the Goldstein Museum of Design.

The University of Minnesota gallery is the first stop on a national tour for “Good Design: Stories From Herman Miller,” which details how the company uses innovation and collaboration in its design process.

On display: original objects such as the Eames molded plywood and Aeron chairs and Marshmallow Sofa. John R. Berry is an exhibit curator; his book, “Herman Miller: The Purpose of Design,” (Rizzoli Publishing, 2004) served as a basis for the show and is being reissued to coincide with the tour.

The 6-8 p.m. opening reception is on the second-floor gallery of McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Av., St. Paul; the exhibit runs through Jan. 17. A related panel discussion is planned 6:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at McNeal Hall.

Berry will join designer Jeff Weber, of Studio Weber + Associates, and Jeff Scherer, of Myer Scherer and Rockcastle Ltd., in a discussion of “Good Design Stories,” the theory and practice of designing “to address the social problems of today’s consumers.”