Humanscale comes to NeoCon 2019 with a range of ergonomic workspace solutions and programming that highlight the company’s commitment to simplicity, functionality, longevity and materiality. Its latest introductions being shown in suite 351, including a new stool designed by Don Chadwick, propel the brand into new commercial categories including guest, multipurpose and executive seating. Humanscale will also highlight its leadership in task seating, celebrating 20 years of its iconic Freedom chair designed by Niels Diffrient. New solutions for a “perfect workstation” will round out its comprehensive range of offerings on display. The brand’s story will also be told through a series of educational seminars and special exhibitions that examine material transparency and life cycle analysis.
Product launches and activations at a glance include:
New in Seating
Alto
Humanscale will give NeoCon attendees a sneak peek at Alto, its new collaboration with designer Don Chadwick. Available in Q4 of 2019, the stool carries on Humanscale’s core values of encouraging human movement while allowing the brand to reach a new market within the office and residential space. Its distinct stance provides stability while its contoured, flexible shell allows for the user to sit comfortably and in a more ergonomic position, alleviating stress on the back of the thighs. The design’s anatomically shaped seat shell plays off the forms of the bow-shaped support and angular leg structure to create a harmonious balance of hard and soft shapes.
Summa
Designed for today’s dynamic leaders, Summa exudes luxurious simplicity, presenting a clean aesthetic from every angle. It reflects the growing need for versatile executive seating and expands the brand’s presence within the C-Suite landscape. Suitable for the corner office, the boardroom as well as the home office, it features an auto-recline that automatically responds to the user for seamless support and comfort. At launch, Summa will be available in thirteen leather options and three wood back options.
Chrome-Free Leathers
Going forward, all of Humanscale seating will now be available in Humanscale’s new line of premium chrome-free leather upholstery. The brand is aiming to become the first company to offer chrome-free leather exclusively. While traditional tanning processes require chromium, Humanscale’s new collection of leathers come from a carbon neutral tannery that does not utilize the harmful chemical, offering a healthier choice for users and the environment. Humanscale will offer two lines of leather, Ticino and Corvera, for a total of thirteen chrome-free leather options.
Celebrating an Icon
Freedom 20
Humanscale will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic Freedom chair and honor the legacy of its long-time design partner Niels Diffrient. Designed by Diffrient in 1999, Freedom revolutionized the seating industry as the first ever self-adjusting chair. Twenty years later it remains the gold standard and is revered for its elegant simplicity, functionality and timeless design. The renowned chair is on a world tour, making monthly appearances in cities and important events around the globe, including NeoCon in Chicago. As the first chair to adapt to real people and real movement, these activations will give trade and consumers the opportunity to personally experience and celebrate Freedom’s intuitive ergonomic design.
New in Accessories
NeatUp
NeatUp is the first cable management system of its kind. Designed with a 6-plug power strip, it powers multiple devices and connections from a concealed source, installed on the table’s leg. NeatUp transforms any work surface into a connected, clean and organized workstation in mere minutes. Perfect for corporate & home offices alike, NeatUp will be available in August in the same finishes as Humanscale’s Float, the award-winning height adjustable table, for a cohesive, minimalist aesthetic.
Other products on display will include Humanscale's new Smart Flex chair, Occasional chairs, Trea multipurpose chair, Smart and Smart Ocean task chairs, Diffrient World and Liberty task chairs and Ballos in the seating category; Vessel, Nova, Infinity and Horizon 2.0 in the lighting category; QuickStand Eco, Float and eFloat height adjustable workstations; M2.1, M8.1, M10 and M/Flex monitor arms; and the Thin Client Holder in the ergonomic tools category.
Programming
Humanscale's programming at NeoCon explores the brand’s latest initiatives and collaborations as it continues to pursue new standards of sustainable design.
RECKONstruct
Sustainability is the ultimate design problem. In our current state of broken nature, we see the ocean filled with plastic, accelerated climate change, and toxins everywhere, including inside our bodies. Incremental change cannot address the magnitude and urgency of our environmental challenges. Humanscale will host RECKONstruct, a VR exhibit addressing these challenges, alongside its partners Arup, SHINE at MIT, Stickbulb and NeoCon on the 11th floor throughout NeoCon (list room number).
The exhibit partners will also host a panel exploring the ideas behind the exhibit. Biomimicry, Biofab, and Circularity as Tools to RECKONstructwill examine the environmental challenges facing designers today, documenting a collaborative process to reimagine a product through three different approaches to sustainability. This presentation featuring Jane Abernethy (Humanscale), Russell Fortmeyer (Arup), Russell Greenberg (Rux and Stickbulb) and Gregory Norris (MIT’s SHINE Program) will demonstrate the resulting design concepts and innovations. June 11, 4pm.
“How Irreducible Complexity Drives Integrated Business Solutions,” a talk by Todd Bracher, Humanscale Design Partner
As designers and manufacturers, we must provide solutions that both address customer needs and align with long-term business objectives. This conversation with Todd Bracher explores the importance and benefits of ‘Irreducible Complexity’, his unique process applied to product design and strategy at Todd Bracher Studio. Irreducible Complexity results in optimized solutions that are fully integrated with strategic goals at each stage of the product development process. Attendees of this intriguing seminar will learn valuable insights and gain a framework for holistic product development that yields tangible returns on investment, creating efficiencies that thread R&D, product strategy, design, development, and scalable manufacturing through to go-to-market strategy and launch communications. June 10, 1pm
“Net-Positive Materials: The Future of Sustainability,” a talk by Jane Abernethy, Humanscale CSO
Raising the bar in sustainable design requires collaboration among designers, manufacturers, and end-users. Using the Living Product Challenge as a guide, Humanscale’s Jane Abernethy also joins ILFI’s James Connelly and Mohawk’s George Bandy to explore the latest advancements in regenerative design, life-cycle analysis, material transparency, and biomimicry in the advancement of sustainable materials. Launched in 2015, the Living Product Challenge is the world’s most advanced sustainability certification for products. The certification program calls us to reimagine the design and construction of products to function as elegantly and efficiently as anything found in the natural world. Following this panel the speakers will lead the first ever Living Products Showcase, a Tour of NeoCon’s Healthy and Sustainable Productsfrom 2:30-4pm. June 11, Panel at 1pm, Living Products tour at 2:30pm