Providing You Ergonomic Solutions for 54 Years

Do you know the origins of the ergonomic chair and the story behind the 54-year legacy of Dauphin HumanDesign^TM Group?

Take an (ergonomic) seat, get comfortable, and let us share. 

In 1968, Friedrich-Wilhelm Dauphin was hired as a German consultant to a British office chair company called Evertaut to look into the impacts of the computer on office furniture. The British firm wasn’t able to execute Dauphin’s full idea in 1969, which inspired him and his wife to start Dauphin HumanDesign Group out of their garage as a family-owned business in a small town near Bavaria, Germany. 

Inspired by his research on the effects of the computer on furniture in the workplace and how it impacted workers’ ability to work in comfort, the first ergonomic chair was developed to help people with their postures and enhance productivity in the workplace by adjusting the back and seat height. 

Mr. Dauphin set out to build a company that offered high-quality ergonomic seating and cutting-edge technology at reasonable prices. Soon after, the market for this type of seating spread throughout Europe and into the United States. 

In 1973, our headquarters was moved to Offenhausen where the first plant was built and expanded over the years. In the 80s and 90s, we set up two additional production sites for mechanisms and upholstery for seating. These supply companies focus on research and development and hold over 73 utility models and patent applications and 118 trademark applications throughout the world. 

In addition to the Dauphin brand, two other chair firms came under the control of the holding company in the 90s: Trendoffice and Züco Bürositzmöbel AG. Today, Trendoffice and Züco Bürositzmöbel AG have become part of our Dauphin product line, and Bosse Acoustic Spaces is our Dauphin HumanDesign product line, offering pod and cube solutions for focus work and private areas.  With these solutions, Dauphin is firmly established in the seating, lounge, and acoustic space markets; we have become a leading provider of complete office solutions.

Today, we have showrooms and offices located in over 70 countries around the world with products available through a network of authorized dealers and distributors. We have 7 national showrooms in Germany and 11 internationally across Europe, South Africa, Latin America, and North America. Thanks to sales branches in Australia, Singapore, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands/Belgium, we have become one of the leading office seating manufacturers in Europe and are viewed as a leader around the world for the future of human-centered office design. 

A Human-Centered Approach to Design

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of office workers by providing ergonomic solutions that are both functional and beautiful. We have been manufacturing innovative products that provide flexible solutions for over 54 years using a human-centered design approach. 

Today, we continue to live this legacy keeping human needs at the center of our design and production with a dedicated team of visionaries, designers, engineers, and ergonomics experts not afraid to take risks to meet the needs of tomorrow. A human-centered approach means we accommodate human needs with the products we make, putting people top-of-mind when designing and creating to solve the right problems. 

“In the 1980s, the phrase ‘human-centered systems’ was first used. The engineer Mike Cooley coined the term, and it's a practice grounded in identifying human needs and solving those problems with simple solutions or interventions. At Dauphin, we use the term HumanDesign to signify that we focus on human needs and that we design with people.” - Gigi Polo, Design Director at Dauphin

We achieve this goal by carrying out our own fundamental research focusing on people’s physical and mental well-being. Through research and talking to the end users using focus groups, looking at trends, and forecasting, we are able to meet the changing needs of the modern workplace with fun, unique, and functional office seating options. 

Our Ergonomic Seating Solutions 

Our ergonomic seating solutions are designed to promote a healthy posture and significantly reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Starting as a basic seating solution that helped with backaches and sore necks from extended time on the computer, over the years the ergonomic seating has evolved into fun and funky office art while still accomplishing its main goal to work in comfortable and healthy positions boosting productivity and complementing the workers’ bodies as much as the office’s design. Our Task Seating Collection options are effective solutions for long, sedentary,  work hours. Magnum 27/7 (available for QuickShip) and Indeed Sustainable Task are great examples of optimal ergonomics at play. Learn more about Indeed here.

When helping customers set up their space for success, we always look first at how the space will be used, what kind of office they’re working with, and who will be using it; a psychogeography of human behaviors through a Holistic Ergonomics framework, of social-physical-cognitive dimensions.

Our Commitment

On average, 1,700 chairs per day are produced at our facilities around the world but chairs aren’t the only products we create. We also offer cutting-edge customizable office and lounge seating solutions, unique steel furniture, air-cleaning devices, and acoustic spaces under our Bosse brand.

We’re proud to have won a number of international awards over the years that speak to the quality, workmanship, and design of some of our most popular products such as Indeed, Stilo, 4+Relax, Atelier, Reefs, and Room-in-Room. Read more about our awards here. 

We’ve also been recognized for our sustainable design practices, receiving numerous awards and certifications for our commitment to reducing our environmental impact. At Dauphin, we believe that comfort and aesthetics should not come at the expense of the environment. All of our products are created with the environment in mind, from the moment they are manufactured until the end of their life cycle. To read more about our sustainability commitments and social responsibility initiatives, such as Design for Durability and our Take Back Program, go here. 

We design with you, not just for you

Our Creative Lab (design services) tailors holistically organized, flexible, and inviting spaces tailored to your needs; the possibilities for a comfortable, attractive, and environmentally-friendly workspace are endless with Dauphin. Contact your local Dauphin rep and schedule a virtual tour today to see our new, classic, and most popular products to get ideas on how to design or redesign your office in 2023 for maximum productivity and employee well-being. If you need support in getting creative with your space, that’s what we’re here for - we design with you, not just for you!

Crossford. (n.d.). The ergonomic chair – A brief history. https://crossfordfurniture.com/blogs/news/the-ergonomic-chair-a-brief-history#:~:text=The%20first%20ergonomic%20chair%20came%20about%20in%201968%2C,to%20work%20in%20comfort.%20The%20Beginnings%20of%20Comfort