Herman Miller partnered with the students and faculty of DIDI (Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation), to bring ‘Ergo Chair—Student Designs for Wellbeing’, a creative project to rethink and reimagine ergonomic seating with well-being in mind.

At the end of the six-week design challenge, the top five thoughtfully-designed chairs were: a chair for the masses, a chair for children who are learning to walk, a ‘Nurture Chair’, designed for breastfeeding mothers who seek privacy within public spaces, the ‘Fidgeter’s Chair’ designed with an aim to find a balance between the need for control in a particular scenario, and the need for freedom and body movement, and finally a chair designed to adapt to an array of natural bodily impulses and aims to perform equally well in different postures.

Chris Morley, head of design at Herman Miller said, “The competition has brought out some great designs, out-of-the-box thinking and really intriguing concepts.”

Hani Asfour, dean of DIDI, added, “It is very important for our students to engage in industry led challenges for real world experience like this highly educative project with Herman Miller, and for this opportunity we are truly grateful. We are very proud of the results of this collaboration, and hope to continue to provide opportunities for our students that complement our curriculum.”