Herman Miller ® Loaded Aeron® Chair

Design Story
In 1994, Herman Miller turned to renowned designers Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf with the challenge to create a totally new kind of office chair. Chadwick's and Stumpf's previous collaboration had produced the groundbreaking Equa chair, so the two designers began this development process with a clean slate, with no assumptions about function, form or material, but with some strong convictions about what a chair ought to do for a person.
Ergonomically, it ought to do more than just sit there. It should actively intercede for the health of the person who sits in it longer than she should.


Functionally, it ought to move and adjust as simply and naturally as possible. It should support a person in any position he cares to assume, at any task his office job serves up.


Anthropometrically, it ought to be more inclusive than its predecessors. It should do more than accommodate small or large people; it should really fit them.

Environmentally, it ought to be benign. It should be sparing of natural resources, durable and repairable, designed for disassembly and recycling; made largely of recycled materials, the Aeron chair is designed to last a long time, with parts that get the most wear easily replaced and recycled. It's just what you would expect in a well thought-out design.

The design that fulfilled these criteria met all expectations and shattered some of them. It wasn't upholstered. It wasn't padded. It was dimensioned in three models that looked exactly alike and that had nothing to do with their users' job titles. It didn't look like any other office chair. And its revolutionary concept incorporated more patentable ideas than any previous Herman Miller research program.

"It was a matter of deliberate design to create a 'new signature shape'," says designer Bill Stumpf. "Competitive ergonomic chairs became look-alikes. Differentiation was a huge part of the Aeron design strategy, and it remains one of, if not the most, critical aspects of Aeron's success."

With its highly adjustable features, its breathable and supportive Pellicle fabric suspension technology, and its unique back support options, the Aeron accommodates the sitter like no other office chair on the market.

The Aeron Chair remains today one of the most famous designs in the industry. Recognized for its sleek look and innovative modern design, the Aeron has become part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art.