Designing Aeron
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Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick studied human sitting habits and explored new materials and production methods to design Herman Miller’s groundbreaking Aeron task chair. Extensive research and prototyping led to the distinctive Aeron finally introduced in 1994.
Poster, Ergonomic Resilient Seating Positions, circa 1985
Movable Model for Herman Miller Aeron Chair Design Proposal, 1991-1994
Seat of an Aeron Armchair Prototype, 1991
Herman Miller Aeron Chair Design Proposal Drawing, 1991-1994
Aeron Chair Back Mold and Form, 1992
Aeron Armchair Prototype #6, 1992 or 1993
Aeron One-Piece Seat Frame Mold & Form, June 1993
Aeron Chair Lumbar Support Model, circa 1993
Prototype Aeron Chair, 1993
Seat of an Aeron Side Chair Prototype, circa 1993
Aeron Chair Tilt Mechanism Housing Model, circa 1993
Aeron Prototype Task Chair, 1993
Fabric Samples, circa 1993, Used for Evaluation during the Aeron Chair Design Process
Aeron Mesh Back Prototype Office Chair, 1992-1994
Aeron Side Chair Prototype, circa 1993
Aeron Armchair Prototype, circa 1993
Aeron Prototype Task Chair, 1993 - 1
Aeron Prototype Task Chair, circa 1994
Aeron Prototype Task Chair, 1994
Aeron Prototype Task Chair, 1994 - 1
Aeron Armchair Prototype, 1994
Aeron Task Chair, Pre-Production Prototype, 1994
Designers Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf explored new materials that could replicate the cooling effect of historic wicker furniture and studied human sitting habits to create Herman Miller's groundbreaking Aeron task chair. One of the last in a series of experimental prototypes, this 1994 version incorporates the distinctive skeletal appearance that exemplified the production Aeron introduced later that year.
View ArtifactAeron Side Chair, circa 1994
Aeron Chair Production Model, 2005
In the 1980s, Herman Miller furniture company designers Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick created an easy chair for the elderly--called the Sarah Chair--but it was never commercially manufactured. Stumpf and Chadwick recognized that the modern workplace could benefit from the solutions they developed for the Sarah Chair. They used the lessons learned--and three more years of research--to create the Aeron, a groundbreaking office chair.
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