Sitting comfortably?

Is your job causing you pain and anxiety? More often than not, it's not the work itself, but the design of the chair you sit on.

Office chair design today is more than just a simple ‘bum-on-seat' concept, where bright colours and deep cushioning would suffice. Now that employees are spending more time at their desks than ever before, office chair design has developed to become an integral part of the whole interior.

"Chairs are a dominant part of every interior concept," said Bassem Demachkie, marketing and communication at Officeland - distributors of office furniture.

"A chair, apart from a bed, is the single piece of furniture that comes into regular contact with the human body. Consequently, the look and feel of seating furniture subconsciously influences the way we perceive a room, whether it's ‘inviting', ‘comfortable', ‘cozy' or generally positive."

Interiors, including furnishings, effect people's perception of those spaces, their sense of well-being, and their sense of the style and culture of the organisation for which they work.

"People make judgements (consciously or sub-consciously) of a business and their care and concern for employees based on what they observe in the interior.

Chairs, that are perceived to be comfortable and visually well designed will influence others perceptions of an organisation," said Mark Schurman, director of external communications at Herman Miller.

Design

Identifying the purpose is the first step in the designing of an office chair, whether it is designed to cater for call centres, architects, journalists or engineers, each of these occupations have different requirements.

"Different jobs require employees to sit on an office chair for dissimilar lengths of time and are likely to be using the chair quite differently. For design and functionality to have a common ground, the target audience or ‘end user' is most important," said Siddarth Peter, managing director of The Total Office.

In terms of design this is dependent on each individual client's needs. When considering an office chair for general staff the ‘must haves' are, height, seat depth, tension control, lumbar support and arm rests.

The easier you can have these adjusted, the faster the end user gets accustomed to using all the functionality available to them," said Peter.

The use of materials is also important, with many designers having moved away from plastic armrests and simple foam cushioning, instead opting for something a little more stylish and up-to-date.

"Aluminium or matt-finished metal surfaces outdate polished and chromed surfaces, and mesh materials are being used for seats and backrests - these seem to gain a higher market share compared to upholstered cushions," said Demachkie.

"SATO Office, for example, develops office seating of long lasting quality. A standard office chair is used between eight and ten years on average. Some of our most successful chairs are in the market for over ten years and still rising in sales figures each year.

Product design focuses on timeless, neutral and still highly valuable perception and long lasting materials," he added.

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