Not all features explored made it into the final design. Sifting through user wants to find user needs is an iterative process, and certainly taught me how to let go!

Some aspects of design were testing and engineered to completion: only for us to find irreconcilable drawbacks in user testing that ultimately led us to scrap the part altogether.

As part of ergonomic optimization, we explored an impressive number of avenues for developing seating. Custom formed, metal frame, modified products, imported specialty chairs….

Ultimately, designing a custom seat and its accompanying hardware became a project as large in scope as MeSpace itself, prompting us to make the choice to modify the unit to accommodate a standard office chair.

Logistically, most offices have a furniture supplier already on speed dial, and won’t have a problem finding or using an existing offering. This also allows for a wide range of seating types, depending on cutomer preference.

Testing the ergonomic impact of a racing seat.

Trying our hand at creating a custom seat, we sought after control over: the (lack) of armrests, seatback height, seating width, and overall ergonomics to fit perfectly into our limited space and minimize downsides.

Drawing from the basics of a ‘task’ style chair, elements in the manner of space and padding were added to increase comfort.

There are many more chairs than shown here. Some of them actually met our growing list of lofty requirements.

The chairs below were imported from Spain for their specialty mechanism that enabled them to stow away when standing at the desk. But, there was one aspect that forced us to ultimately put a cap on the endeavor…

…the user.

In a field test, we offered V6 units with two options: a standard office chair, and our collapsible custom.

The collapsible chair was well-received in a standing format. Users could sit/lean against it like a waist-height ledge. However, not being able to move the chair along the ground was a massive dealbreaker for most users, even with the newest sliding desktop we had engineered to accompany it.

Position adjustments are a significant aspect of fidgeting. Fidgeting consists of movements that ultimate suffice to placate certain areas of the brain and, in this case, assist with focus. Not being able to fidget was highly distracting for many users. As focus was a major aspect of the product goal, this was unacceptable.

Unable to find compatible rolling base hardware to allow the chair to move, the hesitant response to the study was too intense to make the compromise worth the benefit in the end.

Originally a solution to maximize space in conjunction with a fixed chair, the sliding desk combined with the seating to create a dynamic workspace that adapted to a sitting or standing configuration.

We were able to engineer a successful iteration but ultimately scrapped the idea due to complexity. To utilize the hardware and joinery at scale would be impossible to manufacture.

And no, you can’t just use a drawer slide.

Before the hardware could be tested, I created multiple generations of wooden sliding desks to nail down min/max dimensions for all types of users.

The obvious choice to test first was drawer slides; plentiful in the locker shop in both quantity and type. The tolerance required to implement them was extreme for our case. Not to mention, unable to sustain the weight of an individual standing or leaning up against it.

The intricacies of top-mounting drawer hardware and limitation to the out-facing edges of the desktop created more problems than it was able to solve, even in our best attempts.

It was additionally cumbersome for its massive height, rejecting all of our attempts to mount it flush up against the bottom of the desk.

The most impactful system we created utilized tubular friction pads and an extruded aluminum rail. Thin, smooth, reliable, and with just enough friction to stick where placed, the design was a success.

We were proud to feature the design in our largest field test. Despite its success, it ultimately supplemented the lacking mobility in a fixed chair. Once the fixed seating was ruled out, having such a complex manufacturing process going into production with little latent benefit crossed this feature off the list.