The revolution in ergonomics
that’s become a design icon
Aeron
Designed by Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick
Own the problem, and define it as deeply as you can.
Bill Stumpf echoed this mantra on every project he took on for
Herman Miller, but perhaps never more completely than with
the ground breaking Aeron Chair. Working with Don Chadwick,
Stumpf began thinking about what a chair ought to do for you
by consulting people who spend a lot of time in chairs – older
people in retirement centres. When Stumpf and Chadwick took
what they learned and applied it to work seating, they started
a revolution in ergonomics.
With its aeration, inclusive sizing, support for the
natural ways the human body moves when seated, and
environmentally sensitive design, Aeron challenged practically
every convention about office chairs. It wasn’t upholstered.
It wasn’t padded. And its designers’ ideas about what they
called “cross-performance” work – a mix of high-intensity
tasks and casual interaction – anticipated the realities of
today’s workplace, where the technological and social
aspects of work have become increasingly intertwined.
