No matter your industry or the type of work you’re doing, it’s essential that you’re able to work comfortably in order for you to perform at your absolute best. At Humanscale, they strip down workplace ergonomics to the fundamentals to craft furniture that’s less complicated and more comfortable. Rather than pause in the middle of your workflow to adjust your ergonomic chair, their goal is to make it so that you’re always 100 percent comfortable no matter how you sit. If you find yourself not even noticing the chair, then they’ve accomplished their mission. See how the power of physics combined with supreme functionality can make for a simply divine piece of office furniture.
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The Humanscale History

1983 was the year Humanscale’s founder, Robert King, first set out to create function-focused ergonomic office furniture that perfectly balanced health with overall comfort. The 90s saw the company’s first user-friendly creation, an articulating keyboard system, which was later followed up by 1999’s Freedom chair from designer Niels Diffrient.
Additional examples of Humanscale’s innovative and intuitive products include the L6 laptop holders, Horizon lighting, NeatTech cable management and 6G keyboard mechanisms. Over the years, the company’s passion and dedication have transformed it into a global leader of ergonomics, one with locations scattered across nearly 30 countries and innovations that have appeared in movies and television shows alike.
Humanscale Philosophy, Awards and Going Green
No matter the office product, our designers always start with how it’s used rather than how it looks. Humanscale’s ergonomic equation focuses on function, performance and aesthetic, all of which are given equal attention to create a well-balanced product and user experience. No detail is left untouched; designers go so far as to measure how much the mesh fabric of a chair will give when the user sits down. It’s this philosophy that has allowed Humanscale to completely reinvent the way office furniture is made and used, all while keeping the user’s comfort and functionality in mind.
To give users the peace of mind and pride that comes from having a green workspace, Humanscale also concentrates on providing global offices with environmentally-friendly furniture, workstations and tools. Customers can dispose of their old Humanscale pieces in a sustainable manner that doesn’t involve landfills or unnecessary waste. We make designs that last as long as possible, but we also want to ensure that when they’ve outlived their comfort and performance capabilities, they can be donated, recycled or refurbished.
This design doctrine and environmentally-friendly aesthetic haven’t gone unnoticed, either. Humanscale has received a great deal of positive industry attention and praise. Awards include:
- “Best of the Best” from the 2016 red dot design awards
- “Best Interior Design Product” from the Architects Choice Award in 2014
- 2013 honoree from the Interior Design Best of Year Awards
- Silver award in the 2013 PIN UP Design Awards
- Winner of the 2012 iF product design award
Humanscale Products

Since you’ve heard so much about their cutting edge office innovations and tools, we’d like to go into a bit more detail on just what those products are, what they can do and how they’re different from the many other products that are currently available.
They went to every length to make sure the Humanscale Freedom chair lives up to its name. Hailed by The New York Times as “the gold standard in office seating,” designer Niels Diffrient conceived of a chair free of common back tension dials and recline levers. The result is an exemplary sitting and reclining experience that constantly adjusts to the user’s spinal position without the need for a cumbersome recline mechanism. What’s more is the armrests are built into the spine of the chair, which allows them to flow right along with your movements.

The Liberty Task chair frees you from the mid-day backache and twinge that can prevent you from performing at your best. Special attention was paid to the chair’s back, which was created with an intelligent mesh that offers immediate and custom lumbar support. This unique design is what makes it distinctive from other Humanscale items, such as the Diffrient Smart and Diffrient World chairs. These elements merge to provide you with free movement and complete comfort in a minimalist piece of expertly-designed office furniture.
Think your office could use a healthy upgrade? See just how much your work performance can improve with office furniture that works just as hard as you do. Explore the full line of Humanscale products and experience the next stage of ergonomic evolution. No matter the application, Humanscale has you covered.
Humanscale Ergonomic Furniture Resources
- Humanscale Freedom Headrest Ergonomic Chair (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- Humanscale Diffrient Smart Task Chair (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- Humanscale Liberty Task/Conference Chair (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- Humanscale QuickStand Eco Desktop Converter (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- Humanscale QuickStand Lite Sit To Stand Converter (Review / Rating / Pricing)