Three Simple Rules of Chair Design

About half the office employees that we have assessed actually know how to adjust their chairs, yet only 40% of these individuals actually make adjustments. In this article, we specify three simple rules of chair control design to encourage users to make these adjustments.

Would you ever jump into your car, after your 17-year-old, without making proper seat adjustments? Would you drive away even though your feet cannot reach the pedals?

We all know the importance of sitting in a comfortable, well-supported seated posture. We also know the side effects of sitting in an uncomfortable position: lower back pain, loss of circulation to the feet and aching legs. We cannot rely solely on training and instruction manuals to encourage users to adjust their seating appropriately.

In an ideal world, all manufacturers would design the same controls to perform the same adjustments. Once you had learnt to adjust one chair, you would be able to adjust them all. However, that would be too easy, and with every new chair model, we need to learn new chair features and adjustments.

So, to the chair designers of the world, we suggest you follow three simple rules of chair control design to encourage your users to comfortably enjoy your chairs.

• Make sure most users (90%) can reach and operate all controls whilst seated in the chair. No one wants to stand every time to make a minor adjustment. This also applies to stiff backrest mechanisms which require you to stand in order to use both hands, as well as enough force, to adjust.
• Make the activation of a control intuitive. For example, lifting a paddle (control) will activate the mechanism, allowing you to move the seat, and releasing the paddle will stop the mechanism keeping the chair in the desired position. This type of mechanism control is often used in cars to adjust the seat position.
• Provide immediate feedback once a control is activated. Have you ever tried to push or pull a chair lever and nothing would happen? You try three times and still nothing happens? You are not alone, most users give up after three tries and forget the lever altogether.

In order to keep users healthy and comfortable, be sure to include the above key factors in your chair design, along with instruction manuals. And for those who are purchasing chairs, give the chair a test drive and evaluate the control designs.