The History of the Herman Miller Aeron Chair

Designers Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick worked together to create Herman Miller’s famous Aeron chair, but the groundwork for its design was laid several decades before they actually created it. In 1976, Bill Stumpf designed the Ergon chair for Herman Miller; it was considered the world’s first research-based ergonomic chair. In 1984, Stumpf and Chadwick teamed up to create the Equa Chair, which was marketed as being “for people who can’t sit still.” In 1987, the duo created a comfortable chair for the elderly and those that engage in long-term sitting, called the Sarah Chair. Finally, in 1994, the two unveiled the Aeron chair, which took the office furniture industry by storm. It was made using a special textile called Pellicle and designed with ergonomic principles in mind. It quickly became the most sought-after office chair, won several prestigious awards, and was even included in MoMA’s permanent collection. In 2016, the Aeron chair was significantly updated to incorporate new research on sitting. In 2020, a gaming version of the chair debuted. Today, the Herman Miller Aeron chair remains the gold standard of office chairs and is used all around the world.