The Story Behind the Embody Chair

As the benchmark for pressure distribution, natural alignment and healthy movement, the Embody Chair is one of the most ergonomic chairs you could use for your workspace.

Every part of the Embody was designed to serve a very specific, healthful purpose. Bill Stumpf and Jeff Weber had the radical idea of building a chair that did more than just minimize the negative effects of sitting. They wanted to solve the lack of physical harmony between people and their technology, to create a chair that would actually help you think.

“Could we build a health-positive chair?”

This was the motivating question behind the Embody. Stumpf and Weber were determined to create a work chair that was not merely health-neutral. If a chair provided dynamic surface pressure on its user’s back, then there would be more comfort, liveliness, and health benefits. Achieving postural equilibrium, no matter the spinal curvature, was the goal.

Even though Bill passed away in 2006, Weber carried on. He wanted to build on Bill’s inspiration and bring the chair into reality. Testing and research with the help of more than 20 physicians and PhDs in the fields of biomechanics, vision, physical therapy and ergonomics aided the development of the chair.

By consulting experts on what was good and what wasn’t, prototypes were refined to ensure that the chair provided a healthy connection between a chair and its user. Laboratory experiments involving kinematics, preferred postures, pressure distribution, seated tasks and metabolics were conducted to ensure that the Embody truly provided the right health benefits.

The back of the chair is designed to be like a human’s, with a central spine and flexible ribs. A Backfit adjustment allows you to position the backrest in line with your natural spinal curve, achieving a neutral and balanced posture with minimal effort. Whether you lean forward or recline, support remains constant.

The seat of the chair consists of four different support layers that work together to reduce seated pressure. They each have their own material properties and unique manufacturing process that orients to your shape perfectly. Designed to allow for maximum airflow, the seat keeps you cool and comfortable as you sit.

Together, the Embody’s seat and back surfaces provide Pixelated Support that you can feel from the moment you sit down. A dynamic matrix of pixels automatically conforms to your body’s micro-movements, distributing your weight evenly as you sit and work for as many hours as you need. By reducing pressure and encouraging movement, the chair helps you maintain healthy circulation and focus.

“You can’t design without empathy,” said Weber. “Design is the connective tissue between people and the world.”

As the result of decades of painstaking design research, the Embody Chair provides function that you can see and feel. The beneficial technology it provides isn’t hidden, but a part of its aesthetic. The art of design and the science of seating perfectly combine to create the Embody.