Latest From HON
STAY IN TOUCH
Sign up to receive inspirational updates related to product enhancements and the latest workplace trends.
Meet HON’s newest task chair—and the design lead who helped make it more comfortable, customizable, and easier to adjust.
The “perfect” task chair is such an elusive standard because the ideal combination of styling and features are specific to the individual. The new Cipher chair is HON’s answer to this age-old challenge, the key to unlocking all-day comfort through new levels of adjustment that create the perfect fit.
David Mehaffey knows more than most when it comes to designing the perfect chair from the ground up. An industrial design manager who’s been with HON for two decades, Mehaffey says the development of the latest line of Cipher seating was unprecedented.
The typical timetable for chairs from rough concept to finished product is about two years. But Cipher was developed during the pandemic, making the workflow more deliberate and precise—just like the innovative new chair they created through a culture of collaboration that has long set HON apart.
“When there’s a design challenge, ideas go back and forth until we find a solution. We work together to solve problems, regardless of our roles. Our entire team, from engineering to marketing, is involved,” explains Mehaffey. “On our weekly project calls, there are dozens of people—production, procurement, packaging. Everyone plays a part in the implementation.”
The result is a chair that feels custom built for each user. Cipher’s controls are convenient and intuitive, allowing for a degree of fine-tuning users will love—and at a lower price point than many high-end competitive options.
The first feature you’ll likely notice is the slender seat back, still engineered to be as durable as ever, but more subtle and airy—ideal for open offices and smaller settings where an oversized chair may intrude on the space. The visual appeal of the angular design is architecturally inspired, particularly the signature armrests, with angles and edge lines that wrap around and reverse to create a seat that supports the user elegantly and effortlessly.
“Look at the cuts and the chisels on the arm, the bevels on the corners, all the way down to the shape of the activator buttons and the diamond pattern on the armrest,” says Mehaffey. “It’s the attention to detail, then following that detail throughout the theme, that creates Cipher’s distinctive design.”
You’ll find a similar aesthetic in automotive styling from fenders to headlights, which is no coincidence either. HON looks beyond our industry to identify trends, and not just popular ones, but practical ones. The combination of a functional framework complemented by curves where they count make Cipher a seat that looks cutting edge, yet feels familiar—only better.
Customization is really personalization. A chair should feel like it’s made just for you. Those pops of color and additional options make Cipher a seating solution that may look very different depending on the design decisions of each client, be they institutional or individual. But it’s the thoughtful engineering that combines a custom look with a custom feel that remains a constant.
“We wanted to make it more personal by adding color options to the accent pieces. But there’s also the physical interaction with those pieces, a visual indicator for the direction of the adjustments that are available as well,” he notes.
But Cipher’s biggest secret is its innovative lumbar support. The intuitive lumbar can be adjusted independently on each side for both height and pressure. This gives the chair a unique open-back aesthetic and really does make it the perfect fit for everyone. Complemented with weight-activated settings and integrated controls that are nearly invisible instead of intrusive, it’s the task chair you’ve been missing because it didn’t exist until now.
“Cipher was designed with both visual appeal and functionality in mind to ensure easy adjustment and all-day comfort,” Mehaffey explains. “It’s more than just an executive task chair. It’s really the perfect chair for virtually any environment.”
Sign up to receive inspirational updates related to product enhancements and the latest workplace trends.