Finally, a chair that adapts to movement by Herman Miller

Global design manufacturer Herman Miller, Inc. has partnered with London-based design company forpeople to create the Keyn Chair Group, a range of meeting and side chairs that offer responsive movement and immediate comfort for collaborative spaces.

The Keyn Chair Group builds upon Herman Miller’s depth of knowledge in workplace environments and brings the company’s specific expertise in performance seating to a new category. Stephen Perkins, Herman Miller’s Vice President, International Research, Design and Development explains:

“From our research, we know that people move around on average of 53 times an hour when seated. Chairs in meeting rooms tend to be inflexible, meaning a user’s natural movement isn’t encouraged or supported. This results in people being less engaged in the meeting as they become more uncomfortable. The Keyn Chair Group is designed to respond to a user’s movement, supporting their body as they move in their seat.”

Keyn provides instant-seated comfort through its sculpted one-piece shell design. Included in the design of the chair is Herman Miller’s unique CradleFlex system, which responds to shifts in posture. The back reclines smoothly up to 10 degrees, while simultaneously moving the seat forward. The Keyn Chair Group was designed by London-based design company forpeople, who share Herman Miller’s approach to design, which is to continuously search for new perspectives and insights, brought to life through human-centred design, cutting-edge engineering and responsible manufacturing.

“The Keyn Chair Group brings together the people-first approach of both firms to create chairs that users understand intuitively,” says Richard Stevens, Founder and Creative Director of forpeople and Lead Designer of Keyn. “All forpeople’s work starts with how people feel, think and do. And it ends with improving people’s lives, because if design isn’t for people, what’s it for?” When approaching the design of the Keyn Chair Group, forpeople were determined to offer visual continuity combined with unprecedented versatility.

To achieve this, they developed a modular system of only four key parts: base, cradle, seat shell and upholstered pad. With pad configurations ranging from a simple seat pad to a fully upholstered shell and three base styles, Keyn’s universally elegant aesthetic can be used to outfit any space, whether casual or formal. The Keyn Chair Group’s three base styles include a four-leg, cantilever and four-star base, with a painted, trivalent chrome or polished aluminium finish.

The seat shell is available in graphite, studio white or black. A choice of five reverse contrast colours can be specified independently on fully and semi-upholstered chairs. With these options, plus an almost infinite range of colours, materials and finishes from which to choose, the Keyn Chair Group offers versatility with a consistent aesthetic, united with responsive comfort, to meet the needs of any workplace. The Keyn chair range is available from All Office, the sole Herman Miller distributor in South Africa.