In this review, we are going to look at two popular office chairs in the market. We’ll look at the companies behind them and the features that make them of interest.
Table of Contents
Zody chair
We’ll first have a look at the Zody chair. It involves looking at the company, their history, and other information that will give you a greater understanding of their practices. In a socially conscious environment, you want to know that you’re purchasing from brands adopting best practices.
After, we’ll look at what makes the Zody chair unique and the ergonomic standard used to make it.
About the company
Zody is under the brand name Haworth, an office furniture manufacturer. They have a mix of products that offers a ton of options that allows tailoring their office space to their needs.
You can get ceiling to floor and wall to wall products to customize and optimize real estate while enabling you to be unique. From their website, they think of themselves as helping people also to do their best work based on the environment they create.
As your needs evolve, you can still get what you require.
The company founder is G.W Haworth, and he started the privately held business in 1948. Haworth is now considered a global leader in the industry of contract furnishings.
The company does have humble roots, having begun crafting wood furnishings in a town by the Lake Michigan. The vision then paved the way to focus on Organic Workspace that allows people to perform their best.
From the organization’s history, you can see that their company has indeed grown and evolved. The results equally show that they have invested in research, design, and acquisitions to expand both their network and portfolio.
At each step, they work to keep up with the changes in the market. With their client’s success in mind, they come up with strategies that focus on workspace knowledge, design and innovation, and also global expertise.
Haworth also has quite the track record. They have more than 350 patents to their name, 81 sales offices, and showrooms around the world, and operate in 120+ countries.
The site displays that they’ve made more than 2.14 billion in global sales, with 650 dealers worldwide. Even with these figures, the company is looking to work with partners to redefine interior design to utilize real estate.
At the heart of their operations, the brand works to provide each customer with a tailored space that will facilitate a conducive environment. They also sustainably do that.
The bottom line is to have workspaces that will make any given workforce more innovative and effective in their ventures. There’s also the aspect of maintaining these spaces so that they continue to meet the initial needs.
Earlier, there was the mention of Organic Workspace, and that’s what their portfolio is based on. It is about creating inspires spaces that allow office owners to make the most of their investment. It doesn’t matter where you’re based; Haworth is willing to work with you.
With that company information in mind, let’s get into why the Zody chair gets mentioned when looking in all things office.
What makes the Zody chair special?
The design behind this chair is ITO DESIGN, a German company, and off the bat, what makes the chair special is that it’s the only chair in the market that the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) endorse.
The chair itself was birthed after the combination of science-based wellness and comfort and also sustainability and international design. There were extensive research and development to bring the Zody to life. The result was becoming the only seat that offers asymmetrical lumbar adjustments.
That means it provides lower back support based on what each user needs. From the Zody chair collection, you can get a desk chair, an executive chair, and a stool.
The chair also does adhere to the company’s sustainability standards. It is made using 51 percent recycled content, with the whole chair being 95 percent recyclable.
The use of recyclable material is based on the MBDC Cradle to Cradle™ protocol, which is a biomimetic (using synthetic methods that copy biochemical processes) approach used in designing products. The Zody is GREENGUARD GOLD Certified and also free from PVC.
The Ergonomic Seating Guide
Another unique aspect of Haworth is its Ergonomic Seating Guide. The guide aims to provide science-based and innovative information tailored to help minimize worker discomfort.
That is based on data made available in 2017 that stated that 35 percent of non-fatal workplace injuries were musculoskeletal disorders. Some studies equally show that an ergonomic chair and also ergonomic training can reduce work-related injuries and even increase productivity.
When the training is one right, and people adhere to it, they also produce higher quality and quantity of work. It’s been shown that one’s concentration increases while seated ergonomically. That’s because there is a reduction in distractions associated with discomfort.
Therefore, the primary purpose of the guide is to point out the seating features that aid in the improvement of comfort. The guide is also based on collaboration between several organizations that, along with the help of Human Factors and Ergonomics experts, to provide ergonomic standards.
These standards meet the needs of about 95 percent of the population and meet the minimum requirements for users. You can read the guide to find out what the rules are.
They include the back support, armrest, seat depth, and forward tilt, seat recline, and other critical chair features. It is an excellent resource to check out because it helps you to equally appreciate what you’re getting when sitting on the Zody.
Aeron chair
For this next chair, we’re also going to look at the company that makes them. They have been around for more than a century, but they’ve made quite the name for themselves.
Let’s have a look before taking a look at the Aeron Chair.
About the company
The company behind the Aeron chair is Herman Miller. They are a company dedicated to making both useful and beautiful furnishings intended to make one’s work, home, and the outdoor experience more vibrant and even more meaningful.
From their website, the company sites themselves as the first people to kick off American modernism, invent the cubicle and come up with lawn chair and the ottoman. In essence, they are saying they are pioneers in design but also continue to introduce new ways of working and living.
The company has been in existence for more than 110 years. Their humble beginning starts in 1905 with a company called The Star Furniture Company, and similar to Haworth, in Michigan.
In 1919 the company ushers in a new president, D. J. De Pree, who then acquires the company in 1923.
After, he renamed the company after his father-in-law, Herman Miller. From there, the people who came into leadership designed and produced things that weren’t in the market then, mixing the then modern yet timeless design with functionality.
Aspects the company prides itself on is creating ergonomic offices, authentic design, green building, and lean manufacturing. All this comes down to American modernism, and every piece made was part of the legacy they’ve created.
Herman Miller credits their timelessness to the honesty they apply in solving the problems that are meaningful to people. Throughout the years, each piece, whether produced in the 1940s or this year, they all solve a problem people have, and permanently.
Even decades after production, you find that the Aeron Chais is still relevant to the modern-day person. With what you get, it’s about the item continuing to add value, even years after purchase.
Their diversity, utility, and appeal come from the authentic designs they have. Even then, Herman Miller is not all about doing everything themselves.
They have, over the decades, partnered with a ton of people who have something to offer the world.
Their most exceptional pieces are from collaborations they’ve had with other designers. Paired with the company’s years of knowledge, you get furnishings that you can’t get anywhere else.
The brand is always looking to work with people and companies who have fresh ideas, all with solving people’s actual problems in mind. When it comes to manufacturing, the company uses the best sustainable materials they can find.
They also follow world-class lean practices that allow them to build items to your specifications while ensuring quality. A Herman Miller warranty backs the products you get and they are indeed tested for durability before being released into the market.
Herman Miller is different from Haworth in that they also focus on other things, not only furnishing for office spaces. You can get things for the living room, dining room, bedroom, outdoor furniture, lighting, and other accessories.
Now that we’ve looked at the type of company that produces the Aeron chair and what they are all about, let’s get into more about the furniture itself.
What makes the Aeron chair special?
The persons behind this chair design are Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf. You can get the same chair in four different looks. You can have one with a graphite frame and polished aluminum-based, mineral and satin aluminum, mineral, and polished aluminum and graphite and graphite.
You can request free swatches before making your choice. You might want to get something that goes precisely with your office’s color scheme.
There are also three sizes available: Size A, which is a small, Size B, which is medium, and Size C for the large. You can get the type of back support you need too, either the essential back support, the adjustable lumbar support, and the adjustable Posturefit SL.
The same goes for the tilt; you can get the standard tilt or the Tilt Limiter and Seat Angle. The arms, you can have stationary arms, height adjustable arms, or fully adjustable arms.
When it comes to the arm padding, you can procure the seat with the standard one, or if you want to be luxurious, choose the leather. Looking at other features, you’ll note that both the back and the seat are breathable. When you purchase the chair, you get a 12-year warranty along with free standard shipping.
If you’re not pleased with the product, there’s a 30-day No Hassle Return policy in place. As for where it’s made, the Aeron chair is made in Michigan in a 100 percent green-energy facility.
With all these features mentioned, it is clear that the Aeron chair is birthed from an in-depth knowledge of the human-centered design. There is additionally the adaptation of cutting-edge technology.
As per the website, there are over seven million units sold, and that is 20 years after it entered the market. It still sets the benchmark when it comes to ergonomic comfort.
It promotes the right sitting posture: chest open, shoulders back, and the pelvis tilted forward. The base of the spine gets supported using adjustable pads for the proper lumbar support.
The result is perfect ergonomics and comfort.
Which is better?
There are mixed reactions among people on what to get. Let’s explore the top two areas.
Chair size
Zody mentions that they have made chairs that suits 95 percent of the population, and while that sounds great, not everyone has the same feeling. For the other five percent, that is a problem.
There is also the fact that bodies are indeed built differently, and having one size fits almost all don’t sound realistic for most people.
For that reason, people might consider Aeron because it comes in three dimensions. With these options, a lot more people can get something that perfectly suits them.
Ergonomic design
The Aeron chair was made more than 20 years ago, and research-based on what the right human posture is might have changed. It is not to say that they didn’t use research, but one would think of materials, and other features have changed.
The other hand that Zody has over Aeron is they have been endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) based on their use of The Ergonomic Seating Guide.
Wrap up
If you can, you might want to visit a physical store and try the many seats out.
Bodies are different, and so are what our spine needs. Ultimately, you want to get something that’s right for you, and that will improve your seating posture.
Whatever you settle for, it would be a worthwhile investment.