The Diffrient Smart chair is an intelligent mesh task chair with a striking linear aesthetic that complements any environment. Engineered to provide automatic lumbar support for every user, as well as simplicity and ease of use, Diffrient Smart offers comfort, style and flexibility. Diffrient Smart was created by designer Niels Diffrient and, like Humanscale’s Liberty and Diffrient World chairs, uses Humanscale’s revolutionary Form-Sensing Mesh Technology and mechanism-free recline for perfect support for every user.
Featuring the same timeless aesthetic, Form-Sensing Mesh Technology and seamless functionality as Diffrient Smart, Smart Ocean is the embodiment of our commitment to sustainable manufacturing. Humanscale has partnered with Bureo – an emerging venture developing innovative solutions to prevent ocean plastic pollution. Smart Ocean is built with recycled material that originates from Bureo’s Net+Positiva program, which facilitates waste disposal points for plastic fishing nets off the coast of Chile and provides incentives for the collection of discarded materials. Smart Ocean is the first-ever task chair to incorporate recycled ocean plastics in its material composition and is also Living Product Challenge-certified.
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.
