The Dean
The Dean
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Designing furniture that reimagines mid-century style for the modern era
Designing furniture that reimagines mid-century style for the modern era
How does a user’s interaction with furniture shape their sense of its quality?
How does a user’s interaction with furniture shape their sense of its quality?
Emotional Appeal:
Furniture feels high-quality when it fits naturally into the user’s environment and daily routines, reinforcing a sense of belonging and purpose. Through comfortable, intuitive posture, furniture builds trust and communicates that the user’s well-being was considered in the design.
Physical Construction:
Quality is felt through materials that are both honest and durable. Thoughtful, clever details create small moments of delight, showing the user they were considered beyond the surface. Clean, seamless forms with no visual clutter suggest precision allow users to focus on proportion, balance,
and intent.
Material
Steel Tubing | 6' x 0.5" dia. with 0.05" wall thickness
Because of equipment constraints and shipping limitations, the steel tubing’s length, diameter, and wall thickness could not be modified. Its lower strength compared to standard furniture-grade tubing required careful consideration of structural integrity throughout the design.
Manufacturing
3" dia. radius on all steel tubing bends
The available equipment could produce only one bend radius, but the angle and degree of each bend were adjustable.
Transportation
The design needed to fit through standard residential doorways and be transportable in a small SUV to ensure accessibility and ease of delivery.
Wide chair arms give the piece a commanding presence while offering functional versatility, supporting formal sitting, casual leaning, or working from a laptop. The relatively low back height allows the chair to sit comfortably against a wall or stand alone in a space without feeling obstructive.
The frame was designed to remain visually simple without sacrificing strength or stability. Support bar placement was informed by both structural necessity and visual balance. While early prototypes appeared top-heavy, adding lower supports increased cost, reduced portability, and made the piece feel overly utilitarian. Alternative materials and forms were explored to address this.
To convey luxury and comfort, the cushion was made intentionally large, custom-contoured to the frame, and exceptionally soft, an essential design choice that contributed to the chair’s visual weight but remained central to the concept.
The color was chosen to subtly invite interaction; it’s bold enough to stand out, yet soft enough to feel approachable and relaxing.
The chair back features 33 lb ILD foam for a soft yet supportive feel, while the seat and other surfaces use firmer 44 lb ILD foam to provide lasting comfort and prevent bottoming out.
Polyester fill was used to create a more comfortable feel and to soften the overall form, reducing harsh edges and giving the design a less boxy appearance.
The cushion was compressed to properly fit the outer upholstery.
An invisible zipper at the base, combined with tufting, keeps the cushion in place.
The Dean was a largely self-directed project, designed to create a living room piece that quietly reflects quality and class.
The Dean was a largely self-directed project, designed to create a living room piece that quietly reflects quality and class.
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