WorkRedesigning Where We Work and LearnAn evolving relationship between Steelcase and IDEO that positions the company as a leader in shaping our work environmentSteelcase and IDEO have been collaborating for more than 25 years. The relationship has influenced furniture design across a range of environments, from work spaces to hospitals to schools, and has resulted in numerous design awards for iconic pieces like the Node Chair for classrooms and the innovative modern office chair Leap WorkLounge. At the heart of the relationship lie trust and a spirit of collaboration, said IDEO founder David Kelley, allowing the space for innovation. “It has to be the collaboration between our inherent innovation capabilities and their extraordinary internal knowledge about the market and what they do best,” Kelley said. The way IDEO began working with Steelcase decades ago has influenced the way they continue to work today, involved in all areas of the business, from design and engineering to strategy and marketing.
Our role is not just to solve the problems of today, but solve the problems coming over the horizon.Tim Brown, CEO, IDEOThe first collaboration in 1989 was for a new Steelcase division called Details, and featured desktop products to go along with its already successful line of office furniture. From the beginning, IDEO founder David Kelley and a group of designers were involved in helping Steelcase with decision-making on every level of the new division, from product strategy to hiring and everything in between. The particular blend of strategy, design, and engineering used to help Details become successful actually became the prototype project for the future IDEO, and is the blueprint for how IDEO works today. What followed were a series of projects in which Steelcase and IDEO explored moving away from the traditional office cubicle toward furniture that was more architectural and open. More than 10 years ago, Steelcase noticed that the way people worked was changing from static work in offices to more fluid environments that were technology-enabled with laptops and mobile phones.
This insight led to two collaborations, Room Wizard and media:scape, design efforts that captured this changing landscape by extending intelligent work to be supported by digital products, not just physical ones.Jim Hackett, former CEO of Steelcase, said that an early brainstorming exercise in IDEO’s Palo Alto studio made him realize the power of a human-centered design approach. “They asked me to come to Palo Alto for a brainstorming exercise, so I went through the literal exercise that IDEO was having clients do at the time,” Hackett said. “As I was cutting foam core on the floor of one of the studios, I was thinking: I would never work the same way again after doing this. Not just designers should work like this, but anybody who is a knowledge worker should work like this.” The collaboration’s many successes had a profound impact on Steelcase, and on Hackett personally: “I’m so humbled, I can’t even express it. I can’t tell you how many waves of joy come over me when I’m at IDEO.
It’s just an extraordinary part of my life.” Over the years, the two companies have been in nearly daily communication, a practice that has informed the work of both. While Hackett brought Steelcase’s perspective of corporate boardrooms and running a global company, Kelley and IDEO were working in the most innovative place in the world, saturated in design. Both companies agree that neither would be the same today without the experience gleaned from the other.The RoomWizard tracks and displays meeting room availability for a more streamlined booking process.Some of the projects include: RoomWizardAiming to connect the convenience of digital technology to physical spaces, the teams designed RoomWizard, a web-accessible touch-screen display that provides the real-time status of shared meeting rooms, simplifying the process of reserving and managing those spaces. Leap WorkLounge and OttomanBuilding on their earlier work on the Leap Chair, the teams created a work chair with the comfort and style of a classic club chair, a luxury Leap Chair that takes work away from the desk.
i2i ChairIn researching the needs of a growing number of collaborative settings, Steelcase identified an opportunity to combine task and lounge seating. Named for the collaboration it enables, the i2i chair supports a variety of postures, including sideways, reclining, perching, and leaning. Winner of the Spark Gold Award, 2010, and the IDEA Silver Award, 2009.The i2i Chair's ergonomic design benefits a variety of postures and work styles.Amia ChairSteelcase and IDEO designed a task chair with modern ergonomic capabilities that accommodated a wide range of body types at a lower price point. Winner of the IDEA Bronze Award from IDSA and BusinessWeek, 2009. media:scapeSteelcase asked IDEO to help evaluate and design a “walk up and connect” experience that merged furniture and technology to help teams access and share information. Designed to look light, open, and inviting, media:scape used a pedestal table with cleverly embedded hardware and interactive technology to foster group work.
Winner of the IDEA Bronze award for Office & Productivity, 2011. Node ChairIDEO collaborated with Steelcase to design a platform for improving the classroom experience. The final product, dubbed the Node chair, has received praise for promoting student collaboration, allowing educators to reconfigure classrooms to fit different teaching styles, and enabling institutions to save money by making spaces more flexible and accommodating for varied uses. Winner of five design awards.A love letter to Node.To learn more about this project and how to work with IDEO, get in touch.Receive a free gift as appreciation for being a valued Human Solution customer! Choose one of the following options: A FREE UPLIFT Notebook and Tablet Stand - View your tablet or laptop in a more comfortable ergonomic position with this lightweight, adjustable stand, which can also be used as a document holder. A FREE Goldtouch Adjustable Keyboard - GTN-0033 - This keyboard's split design promotes a more natural and ergonomic typing position.
A FREE UPLIFT CPU Holder - Clear up desktop space and keep your computer tower off the floor by mounting it to the underneath of your desktop. This accessory is great for height-adjustable desk users. A FREE UPLIFT Single Monitor Arm - Mount a monitor weighing between 4.5 lbs - 17.5 lbs, and adjust the height, depth or lateral position with easy fingertip adjustment. A FREE $100 gift certificate toward an UPLIFT Desk - There's no better time to make the switch to a height-adjustable desk! Gift certificate is good toward full two and three-leg UPLIFT Desks; excludes scratch and dent models. (Please note: There is a limit of one gift certificate or coupon per desk order.) The Steelcase Leap Chair is available in your choice of a black or platinum or polished aluminum frame: Steelcase chairs are available in a variety of durable, vibrant fabrics. Buzz2 is 100 percent polyester, in 28 different colors. Cogent: Connect provides beautiful saturated shades. Chainmail is sustainable and stylish, made entirely of post-consumer material.
Finally, select Steelcase chairs can be upholstered in leather, ranging from traditional tones to bright, modern hues. The Steelcase Leap Chair is available with or without arms. There are some applications where arms get in the way of tasks. For computer users we recommend Steelcase arms because they're some of the best on the market and they can lower to about thigh level. The highly adjustable arms move in and out, forward and back, up and down and pivot, so you can find the exact position for optimal support and comfort. The Steelcase Leap Chair is available with or without a headrest. The headrest provides additional support to the head and neck and provides an easy height adjustment. The Steelcase Leap Chair is available with a standard (seat height: 16'' - 20 1/2'') or tall (seat height: 17'' - 24'') cylinder. Select hard casters for carpeted floors or soft casters for hard floors, including concrete and tile. This chair purchase includes a free half-hour Online Ergonomic Training Webinar with an ergonomic pro.