How to be More Creative

Posted on October 13th, 2009 in This'n'That by admin

While this isn’t really design related, this can be the complete downfall of your work flow. If you’re like me, you’ve got a crappy chair that you constantly shift uncomfortably around in. This may have to do that I work in a basement office and my feet freeze which is why I’m always pulling them up onto the chair, however my chair needs to be retired. Immediately retired. So I did a little bit of research and came up with a couple of chairs that seem to be well reviewed.

Ergo Mesh Medium Back Task Chair

The Ergo retails for about $200USD and receives high ratings for comfort and adjustable features. You do put it together yourself which I find a little on the cheap side. The only other seat I’ve had to put together was a piece of junk, so I may be harbouring resentment from that heap of poor materials. Nevertheless, the chair itself looks like a decent one, and style-wise not too shabby either.

Office Star Deluxe Ergonomic Chair

The Office Star Deluxe retails for about $280USD and is supposedly as close in comfort and functionality as the Steelcase Leap or Herman Miller Aeron. While the photo leaves something to be desired due to it’s lack thought put forth for style, the price isn’t bad for leather – how much of it genuine I have yet to determine.

Herman Miller Mirra

The Mirra is a newer model from Herman Miller and I’ve got to say that it scores high in the style category for myself however the price is a bit bloated at $650USD – $850USD depending on whether you want the basic or fully loaded model (I feel like I’m buying a car again). It has a lot of interesting features including a back that contours to each person, several available chair colours, and some manual controls as well.

Steelcase Leap

I have to say that straight up, that the traditional look of this chair hits home with me. The Leap comes in either a fabric or leather seat and back, comes with a gliding seat, and flexible back that conforms to the sitter’s spine. There’s also a lifetime warranty that I have yet to see on some of these other chairs. The $850USD price tag may have something do with that though.

ErgoHuman Raynor

The ErgoHuman has a lot of available manual settings and the entire brand looks to be centered around making your chair custom for you.  The chair comes in a bunch of different colours and two different sizes, however pictured here is the low back version which retails for around $600USD.

Alternatives…

While I’ve found these five chairs to be highly praised by many on the web, I’ve also had friends and family suggest other alternatives like Kneeling Chairs, or Exercise Balls, while I’ve found others ranting about the likes of VIA Seating, Balt Inc. Seating, Safco Chairs and HumanScale Seating.

That said, I’d really like to open this up for conversation as to who recommends what. But get specific if you like – tell me what you do (ie. if you sit at your desk all day or if you’re up from your desk a lot), how long you’re there, and why you find the chair to be responsive to you.

Thanks, and happy commenting!