Humanscale Diffrient World Ergonomic Task Office Chair

Cancellation Fee: Customers have 72 hours to cancel an order after the ship date has been given. There will be a 10% fee applied if the order is cancelled after the given time frame.

Diffrient World is Humanscale’s first foray into all-mesh task
seating. Designer Niels Diffrient wanted to create the most minimal,
full-function task chair ever made. With an innovative tri-panel mesh
backrest that provides custom back and lumbar support and a lightweight
design, Diffrient World is, like all of Humanscale’s products, simple,
beautiful and functional. The design eliminates the need for traditional
mechanisms, instead using the laws of physics and the sitter’s body
weight to offer perfect recline for each individual sitter. Diffrient
World offers the ultimate user-friendly sitting experience.

Niels Diffrient designed Diffrient World to offer ease of use and
effortless functionality. With weight-sensitive recline that adjusts
automatically and armrests that are attached to the back of the chair so
they move with the user for ergonomic comfort, Diffrient World provides
custom comfort for every sitter. A high quality, affordable task chair
with minimal parts, Diffrient World was built with longevity in mind and
will look as good in ten years as it does today.

High Performance – Ultimate Simplicity – Simplicity is at the core of
Humanscale products. Each of our designs is incredibly easy to use with
the fewest parts and controls possible. All this is achieved while
offering the highest levels of performance and functionality. That
commitment to simplicity led to the development of Diffrient World: a
high-performance task chair that fits one or 1,000 users. From design
legend Niels Diffrient, the Diffrient World chair features an
unprecedented combination of performance, sustainability and simplicity
in a task seating solution.

Simplicity: For the User – The Diffrient World chair has just two
manual settings – one each for seat height and seat depth. All other
fittings and adjustments are automatic. With its weight-sensitive
recline, the Diffrient World chair automatically supports every user at
every recline position. And its Form-Sensing Mesh Technology provides
tailor-made lumbar support without external devices or manual controls.
That means we’ve replaced knobs, levers and instructions with effortless
ergonomic comfort.

Simplicity: For the Organization – In stark contrast to other chairs,
which require many adjustments, Diffrient World achieves the pinnacle of
simplicity of function. Users can take full advantage of its ergonomic
benefits the moment they sit down, without even thinking about it. So
instead of managing chair training for today’s and tomorrow’s employees,
organizations can focus on managing their business. And with just eight
major parts, Diffrient World is built to last. Requiring minimal
maintenance, Diffrient World comes with a 15-year 24/7 warranty. In
other words, the chair’s simplicity reduces the need for ongoing
maintenance and repairs, making it even easier for an organization to
own.

Simplicity: For the Environment – Weighing as little as 30 pounds and
made of one-third the parts of traditional task chairs, the Diffrient
World chair requires far less raw material and fewer manufacturing
processes and that means less extraction, energy, waste, shipping and
disposal associated with its lifecycle. And its modular design allows
for easy in-field upgrades and part replacements, thereby
extending its already long serviceable life. By the way, we have a plan
to find the best use for the Diffrient World chair when it’s time for
disposal.

Technical Drawing

Specifications

Features & Innovations

1. Self-Adjusting Recline

• Revolutionary mechanism-free design
  harnesses the laws of physics and the user’s body weight

• Automatically provides appropriate support and resistance
  regardless of user’s size

• No unnecessary recline locks or tension springs to set or adjust

• User maintains near-constant eye level during recline

2. Pivoting Backrest

• Extra backrest motion automatically adjusts to
  changing needs of the spine

• Adapts automatically to provide additional lumbar support as
  needed

3. Form-Sensing Mesh Technology

• Tri-panel, non-stretch mesh
  construction creates body-fitting contours and self-adjusting lumbar
  support for an automatic, customized fit

• No external lumbar devices to adjust, break or lose

• Low-abrasion mesh protects clothing

4. Mesh Seat

• Frameless front edge eliminates contact stress behind
  the knee

• Low-abrasion mesh protects clothing

• Optional upholstered seat

5. Armrests

• Adjustable or fixed armrests connect to the backrest
  instead of the seat to stay with the body during recline

• Armless model also available

6. Body Fit

• Size-adjustable to fit widest range of body sizes

• Automatically customizes recline resistance and lumbar support for
  every user

• Size-to-fit settings for seat height and seat depth

• Optional height-adjustable armrests for custom arm support

7. Casters

• Standard casters for hard surfaces

• Optional soft casters or glides

• Invisible Recline Mechanism – Diffrient World uses the laws of
  physics and harnesses the user’s body weight to automatically provide
  the right amount of recline for every individual, every time. Its
  groundbreaking mechanism-free recline action leverages two parts of
  the chair’s frame to provide automatic, balanced support throughout
  the full range of motion for maximum support.

• Responsive Bracket – Diffrient developed the chair’s back using
  the laws of physics, which eliminates the requirement for a separate
  lumbar support, which tends to create a pressure point and requires
  manual adjustment. With patented Form Sensing Mesh Technology, the
  backrest perfectly conforms to the sitter’s entire back as if custom
  made for them.

• Sitting on Air – A truly lightweight chair, Diffrient World
  replaces the standard cushion seat with a low-abrasion, non-stretch
  mesh. To maximize comfort, Diffrient eliminated the front edge of the
  chair, solving a perennial problem of hard edges placing pressure on
  the knees and contact stress behind the thighs, allowing long-term
  comfort and total supports for every sitter.

Designer

Niels Diffrient
– Niels Diffrient’s designs are grounded in the philosophy that form follows function. His work has spanned generations, consistently looking past trends to reinvent the tools we use for daily living.

With an academic foundation in design and architecture and a degree from Cranbrook Academy, Diffrient channels his knowledge of engineering, architecture, and human factors into the creation of highly functional and aesthetically timeless designs.

From his early work with the studios of Eero Saarinen, Marco Zanuso, and Henry Dreyfuss to his current work with Humanscale, Diffrient’s visionary talent has been widely recognized. Included among his many honors are the 2002 National Design Award from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and the 1999 Chrysler Design Award. In recent years, Diffrient had focused his energies on designs for the office environment, particularly seating
– a category in which he has pioneered numerous breakthroughs, from pneumatic cylinders for seat height adjustment to weight-activated automatic recline.

Design Story

“If every chair was made the way the World Chair was, we would cut in half all the material used for task chairs.” Niels Diffrient, Designer.

Drawing inspiration from the three dimensional approach tailors take when creating men’s suits, Niels Diffrient wanted to build a minimal mesh task chair with a back that automatically fits the user. He collaborated with textile designer Elizabeth Whelan to create a flexible but strong non-stretch mesh, so the backrest would take on the shape of the sitter. He also wanted World to be minimal but highly functional, so he worked to eliminate tension mechanisms, knobs and adjustment levers. The result is a task chair that is simple but beautiful, supporting each user instantly and changing the way people sit.