by Danine Alati
Rooted in human-centric design, OM Seating is redefining ergonomic seating with products like OM5, Plot Twist, and Werksy—blending enhanced style and comfort to meet the demands of modern work environments. “We think about people first,” attests Wilson Chow, CEO and president of OM Seating. “We are always striving to find better ways to design and build seating solutions that support people wherever they’re working—whether that is with traditional task seating, or for a modern-day, WFH-driven community space. We want to provide seating for all kinds of working environments—everywhere and every way people work. We truly listen to our customers: We ask, how do people actually sit—not how we think they should sit. Then we design seating that intuitively adapts to as many of these scenarios as we can.”
Chow elaborates, “Our chairs should be flexible, multifunctional and design-forward. We push to see beyond basic ergonomics (which are still needed) to create innovative, even playful solutions. The challenge is how to be all those things, while also keeping our design simple. The work-from-home movement has a tremendous influence, and clients want chairs that can be a ‘nest for the day’ for hybrid workers and shared spaces.”
Acknowledging these shifting requirements and the significant transformation of the modern workplace, OM Seating has developed new products that cater to a variety of sitting styles and preferences.
The evolved OM5 and Innovation Awards
Designed by Phidesign Studio, the reimagined OM5 Series offers an updated version of the task chair that redefined the company more than 10 years ago. Capturing the attention of the 2024 Best of NeoCon jurors for its distinct ingenuity and functionality, OM5 earned an Innovation Award in the Seating: Conference category.
“We never feel that we’re entirely finished with any design. We’re always finding areas for improvements and refinements, even during the initial design phases for new products,” Chow explains. “So with the OM5, already a successful chair when it first launched, we are revisiting it. Why? We thought of features that would make it even better!”
Chow continues, “One of the innovations is our tools-free removable seat design. The way we solved this super practical need really captured the imagination of the judges. Not only is it essential for sustainability, cleanability and longevity, but it is also a cleaner execution of this in-field swappable seat concept than what most other companies have tried. With the new OM5, it is a full-scale, fully functional task seat, with zero tradeoffs in terms of wrinkles or messy corners, and it maintains all the same comfort and visuals as a permanent task seat.”
One Best of NeoCon juror explains why OM5 is so appealing: “The polymer backrest can be fully wiped, cleaned, and still can be specified for a boardroom setting. Custom-fit solutions and options with OM5 are a plus. Easily swappable seat cushions that can be changed in the field are great for facility operations and maintenance.” The tool-free removable seat design satisfies a practical need with an extremely efficient solution for facility designers.
The dynamic design of OM5 addresses how people sit throughout the workday with a body-activated, self-weighing mechanism that encourages movement across a range of postures. Its proprietary, integrated Bilateral Lumbar Support offers effortless comfort, and the backrest has a unique “virtual lock” upright position that intuitively responds when the user is ready to shift postures. For instance, when reclining, the OM5 backrest senses the body’s shift and seamlessly adjusts, allowing the user to lean back, pause, and recline further—all without the need to find a paddle or pull a lever beneath the seat. “I love how the OM5 can sense how your body shifts and adjust accordingly,” says one Best of NeoCon juror. “And the virtual lock feature is innovative.”
Sit, spin and roll with Plot Twist
Plot Twist is a mobile, swiveling pouf with options including a connected, sit-to-stand, height-adjustable tablet that orbits around the seat for ambidextrous use. Supremely functional and utterly playful, Plot Twist is a surprisingly self-contained and multifunctional mobile work seat that easily adapts to multiple contexts. Plot Twist changes the way users think about movement, function and collaboration across all sorts of doing-thinking-gathering environments.
Designed by Chris and Jon Panichella of Achella Design, this lightweight work seat can be configured for seated-to-standing solo work, collaborations, and even simple presentations. The custom designed lift column delivers a smooth, stable and predictable glide throughout its range.
“We want to be a part of creating vibrant, joyful spaces that enable people to concentrate, collaborate, reflect, squirm, stand up, sit down–all without changing their chair,” offers Chow. “Even though we designed Plot Twist before the pandemic and introduced it after, all this new demand for flexibility was already built in. A user can roll away on their own for focused time, then quickly and easily come back together as a group to engage and collaborate.”
Plot Twist won Gold and Innovation Awards in Best of NeoCon 2022 in the Seating: Stools category and an Innovation Award in Collections for Collaboration. It was also named one of four Best of NeoCon Best of Competition finalists and was one of seven products recognized with a Business Innovation Award. Jurors appreciated Plot Twist’s fun and innovative design and were impressed by its functionality. “Every feature was thought out and designed for versatility. The [free-lift] on the underside of the tablet arm is one of those quiet features,” offers one 2022 Best of NeoCon juror.
And another 2022 juror attests, “I love this piece. The mobility and adaptability all within one spec is unique in the somewhat oversaturated pouf market. The lift to raise and lower the work surface is so user friendly, structurally stable and intuitive to use. And the lumbar support while looking too low actually hit at the perfect seated height.”
Attesting to its unusually adaptable, intuitive and innovative features, OM Seating’s Plot Twist has been recognized as a ground-breaking design for healthcare, educational, hospitality and commercial environments.
Be nimble and fluid with Werksy
OM Seating introduced the versatile Werksy Collection with a suite of guest, light task/hoteling, and rocking chairs that have proven to be ideal for today’s highly flexible work environments. Designed by Henner Jahns and his firm Gecco Vision, Werksy melds a whimsical aesthetic with the evolving demands of the modern workplace, embodying the fusion of “work” and “easy” in its very name.
Available as a four-leg stacker, rocker, four-star side chair, and five-star-base tasker or stool, Werksy adapts to various work settings and modes. The tasker features a simple tilting action and casters for easy mobility, while the height-adjustable rocker includes a swivel mechanism with a self-centering feature. All Werksy models are crafted with a molded poly shell, complete with a waterfall edge on the back and arms, and an upholstered seat (with the option for full-chair upholstery) to create an elegant form. Comfort, functionality and a touch of whimsy converge in the Werksy Collection.
A dynamic design approach to seating
OM’s designs progress beyond the simple biomechanics of sitting to reflect the nature of how we behave and interact in the work environment. Chow concludes, “At heart, OM is an ergonomic task chair company. It’s in our DNA. Everything we do is about staying true to those roots and keeping our curiosity alive. For us, the term ‘ergonomics’ isn’t just limited to an 8-hour task chair; it’s really for any place a person could want to do work productively and comfortably.”
Danine Alati is a contract industry writer and editor with over 20 years experience and is an associate project manager with the Best of NeoCon product competition.