With its bentwood frame, cantilevered seat, and curved backrest, the Poäng chair is one of Ikea's most recognizable pieces. The Swedish furniture maker has produced over 30 million Poäng chairs since it debuted in 1976, and it continues to sell about 1.5 million every year—the company's bestselling armchair—not bad for a design that's settling squarely into middle age. So what, exactly, made the Poäng a commercial success and an instant icon for Ikea? The secret lies in a genius concept that's been gently updated with the times. The company doesn't normally put individual designers in the spotlight, but for the Poäng's 40th birthday, it did. Japanese designer Noboru Nakamura is the creator of the Poäng. He came to Ikea in 1973 to learn more about Scandinavian furniture—and there, he collaborated with Lars Engman, the director of design at the company, on a chair that would use plywood veneer construction. In a video interview, Nakamura, who left Ikea in 1978 to start his own furniture company, describes how the chair came about.
"I learned by experience that a cantilever consisting of a U-shaped structure could, with a person, swing to some extent with the use of molded plywood, and I wanted it to swing in an elegant way, which triggered me to imagine Poäng," he says. "A chair shouldn't be a tool that binds and holds the sitter; it should be a tool that provides us emotional richness. [Poäng] creates an image where we let off stress or frustration by swinging. Such movement has meaning and value." The final silhouette resembled Alvar Aalto's Model 406 chair of 1939, but in lieu of a webbed or caned seat, the Poäng sported thin upholstery. "While the design has remained largely unchanged since its inception, this iconic product has undergone some alterations to make it more accessible, more affordable, more relevant, and to increase the quality," says Mark Bond, deputy range manager of living rooms at Ikea. There have been tweaks to the upholstery color and pattern to keep the chair relevant with consumer tastes, but the biggest change happened in 1992.
The chair's seat was originally made from tubular steel, but in the early '90s, the company switched to an all-wood frame and also narrowed the size. This allowed the chair to be flat packed—a move that reduced the price by 21% for customers (it's actually less expensive now than it was when it launched). That same year, Ikea changed the chair's original name, Poem, to Poäng. "The evolution has always been design-focused, thinking of this product not as a fashion item but rather adhering to and improving upon the classic design," Bond says. Considering that the Poäng routinely shows up in houses, apartments, dorm rooms, and anywhere you need to kick up your feet, Nakamura's emphasis on an emotionally rich chair—and Ikea's affordability-minded engineering—have proven to be a winning combination. To honor the design, the company is selling a limited-edition version of the chair, with a grasscloth-like cushion cover much like the inaugural offering had in 1976, starting in September.
Like the recently opened Ikea museum, that fanfare around the Poäng's design shows how the furniture company is beginning to demystify some of the genius that's contributed to its history—a welcome change that gives some of the most ubiquitous products in the world the same pedigree as pieces that cost many hundreds of dollars more. Never miss a story. I'd also like to receive special Fast Company offersIkea's Poang chair is one of the retailer's iconic and longest-selling pieces, having graced homes since the mid-70s. The brand recently debuted this charming film that reads like a love letter to the chair. Apparently based on fact, it tells how the retailer came up with its design. The tale opens on May 17, 1976, the first day on the job for a nervous Ikea designer named Lars Engman, who was tasked basically to, "Just do something." Just months before, Japanese designer Noboru Nakamura had arrived on a mission to learn more about Northern European design and Ikea.
Turns out however, he felt a bit out of place, or "unique," as the film puts it -- until Engman approached him on putting their heads together. It was through their collaboration, portrayed as an amicable give-and-take against a stylish retro backdrop, that Ikea came up with Poang, or Poem, as it was first called. The film fast forwards to modern day, showing the two designers (portrayed by actors) still at it. "We made something really special together," a V.O. reads. "40 years from the beginning of a chair and a friendship, Poang is still there. As friendships do, the chair has evolved, so that it now comes in many colors and finishes, constantly improving over the years. 40 years onwards, the collaboration and friendship still flourish. May we raise a toast to friendship and Poang." We're not quite sure how much of the tale was fictionalized. Nakamura alone has long been cited as the chair's designer, while Engman had been a product manager who worked with him when the chair was conceived.
IKEA's POÄNG Chair Turns 40 Today One of IKEA's most easily recognizable pieces, the POÄNG chair celebrates its 40th anniversary today. Here are some fun facts about the iconic design: → 10 Times the IKEA POÄNG Chair Looked Definitively Chic Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow (Image credit: Apartment Therapy ) 1. It wasn't always called POÄNG. The chair was originally named POEM, but was changed in 1992 to note the changes and improvements made to the design. 2. More than 30 million POÄNGs have been sold since 1976. If they were all lined up side by side, they'd stretch around half the Earth's circumference. Currently, 1.5 million are sold each year. Hip, Patterned, Industrial Style in a Montreal Loft (Image credit: Marie-Lyne Quirion) 3. It's an "armchair for life." Japanese IKEA designer Noboru Nakamura was tasked to create an "armchair for life," and the POÄNG was born. Kate & Chad's Art-Filled Dwelling (Image credit: Alexis Buryk)