Freedom Chair by Humanscale
designed by Niels Diffrient

What's to Like:

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It may surprise you to hear that Humanscale doesn't really consider itself to be a furniture company. They make furniture, of course, but rather than calling themselves a furniture company, they call themselves an ergonomics company. There isn't an organization out there more committed, driven, and knowledgable about the field of ergonomics than Humanscale.

Humanscale stands for ergonomic furniture. The Freedom Chair is what you might call their Magnum Opus (thus far).

Designed by Niels Diffrient- a man responsible for major advances in the field of ergonomics in the last few decades- the Freedom Chair is held together by a single idea: that sitting down should be simple and comfortable at the same time. This guiding principle has served Humanscale well, as its ergonomic chairs have become standouts in the design world and the office chair market.

Goodbye Manual Adjustments
Niels Diffrient errors on the side of simplicity. The Freedom Chair has a self-adjusting Dual Pivot backrest that supports the lumbar area of your back no matter how much you're sitting forward or how much you're reclining. There's no back stop, no tension adjustment. There is a height adjustment on the back of the chair, and once you've set this to fit the lumbar area of your back, you can stop thinking about how to adjust your chair's controls to make it more comfortable.

Revolutionary Counterbalance Mechanism
The Freedom Chair was meant to be reclined in. Niels Diffrient once stated that the most ergonomic seating position is to be laying down. Since that's unfortunately not an option at home or in the office, the next best thing is to lean back in your Freedom Chair. Its groundbreaking counterbalance mechanism automatically supplies the optimal amount of recline tension for your body weight and size.

An Intuitive Headrest
The Freedom Chair's optional headrest is built into the frame and spine of the chair itself- rather than staying in a static position atop the back of your chair. The problem, Humanscale found, was that a fixed headrest is often in the wrong position because your head needs different amounts of support depending on how far you're reclining in your chair.

The Freedom Chair's headrest is non-intrusive and stays out of the way when you're sitting up, but it moves forward to a supporting position when you lean back. Its ergonomic shape parallels the natural arc of the neck and head, and to ensure that it fits all users, it is vertically adjustable up to 5".

High-Performance Gel Seat
Humanscale is known for this standout feature. Although it is optional, the gel seat of the Freedom Chair is one of its most important features. Set atop a thin layer of polyurethane foam, the Technogel layer provides outstanding shock absorption and distributes pressure evenly across the seat- making those long hours of sitting much more comfortable.

Why gel seats are superior to foam seats
• Gel Seats distribute pressure better than foam seats. After 90 minutes of sitting, gel seats realize 60% less max pressure than foam seats. This is because gel behaves more like a liquid than a solid, so as pressure builds in one area, it disperses to low-pressure areas, thus distributing weight proactively.


• A longer lifespan means long-lasting comfort. Gel seats have a much longer lifespan than traditional foam cushion seats. Foam breaks down over time, forming a cavity that prevents movement on the part of the sitter. Gel on the other hand, is non-static, and encourages movement.