Articles, Featured Articles, Industrial Design

Knoll recently released the ‘Generation‘, the latest in its’ line of task seating and it is quite a breath of fresh air into a fairly traditional genre of design.  The marketing slogan behind the chair, and if one is to believe their website, the design mantra as well, is that people should be able to sit as they choose.  People of the current younger generation do not sit as their older contemporaries do.  They slouch more, they tend to be more fidgity, switching between positions, as well as extremely interactive with those around them.  Therefore, Knoll created the ‘Generation’ in a manner to help facilitate these traits, as opposed to hindering them.  While this design may not be the best in terms of helping the user to avoid back pain from incorrect postures, it is actually a step in the right direction.

Traditionally chairs have tried to capture the user and hold them in a certain position.  While in theory this could work if the chair would be tailored to the user and they were not to move from the optimal position, in reality, this is far from the case.  According to research, it is in fact far more beneficial to go with the flow so to speak, and encourage the user to move frequently.  This movement gives the back muscles time to recouperate and lessens the long term impact of any potential damage.  What the ‘Generation’ accepts is that users want to move around and be in various sitting positions, and helps them to move between them which is a commendable step in the right direction for such a big name in the chair game.  While it isn’t optimal in that it can help users facilitate extremely poor postures for lengthy periods of time, there are always going to be missteps along the way of such a brazen and bold direction.

Where the ‘Generation’ truly succeeds is in delivering the user an experience that they are able to really make their own.  By being able to build the chair with the components that are desired, and then by further enable the user to sit in so many different positions, the chair begins to feel as though it was made specifically for you.  Even the website address, www.sithowyouwant.com is indicative of the emphasis that Knoll put on creating a product that embodies a tailored user experience.  All of the elements of the chair are easily adjustable to fit the user quickly and easily, and the materials chosen allow for flexibility that has rarely been seen in such a traditional work environment.  By browsing their website, under the demos (and then video demos), you can quickly grasp the idea and rational behind the ‘Generation’.  The shape and materials, as well as potential colorways are all very thoroughly thought out.

While this chair will not likely dethrone the Herman Miller Aeron Chair anytime in the near future as the standard by which all office seating is judged, it is able to make clear it’s value in different areas than the Aeron Chair.  It doesn’t attempt to overtake the Herman Miller offering by doing the same things, but tries to take a radically different approach, and is largely successful.   Such a dynamic and different take on an often stagnant and traditional market segment should be applauded if we are to hope for more innovations.