A commitment to innovation and sustainability underpins the Snap chair, created by Note Design Studio for Profim. Constructed for office conversation and collaboration, it’s ready for business – with all the comforts of home
Snap is a new family of chairs for the contract market from Polish furniture brand Profim. Yet they look ready and waiting to jump into a cosy domestic environment. Plump cushioning softens the seat back and base, which rest on a curvilinear frame, all rendered in enticing, gentle hues. The lounge version in particular is all about comfort, with extra-downy quilted padding wrapped around the arms and over the seat. Snap is both refined and unquestionably inviting, while also embracing some of the most circular manufacturing methods around.
The domestic aesthetic is no surprise, since we are now accustomed to seeing elevated style and home comfort in the office. This chair, however, was not conceived to cross boundaries. It has been very intentionally designed by Sweden’s Note Design Studio as a tool for productive lounging in the work environment. “Profim was looking for a contemporary office chair that fosters creativity and collaboration,” says Note’s Kristoffer Fagerström.
Authentic sink-in comfort (as opposed to simply the impression of it) was high on the agenda, but it was the angle of the back that became key. One prototype was far more upright than intended, but sitting in it created a feeling that they hadn’t anticipated “With a straighter back you sit in the chair in a more engaged way,” says Fagerström. He still needed the back to be a bit lower for comfort, but that early model changed the course of their design and spurred their quest to find just the right angle to facilitate both relaxation and interaction. “We hadn’t planned for a more upright back, it evolved through the process. It’s become a mix between a chair and a lounger.”
The ergonomics of the workplace chair have occupied the best design minds for decades. The task chair is a typology under constant scrutiny, with the focus traditionally on ease of movement, healthy posture and physical comfort. But with the revolutionary changes in working habits over recent years, a new area of focus is emerging. Neuroergonomics looks at designing for the mind and influencing productivity through more sensorial stimulation. “Wellbeing and mental health are at the centre of modern workspace design. Hormones and neurotransmitters, such as oxytocin for relationships, dopamine for mood and creativity, and low cortisol for productivity, relate directly to the work environment,” explains Natalia Olszewska, an expert in the field and founder of the research institute Impronta, who Profim invited to help establish the direction for Snap. “Designing spaces that positively stimulate these neurotransmitters can improve employee satisfaction and efficiency.”
A chair design that accommodates the modern working mind wasn’t the only goal that Profim had for its newest seating family, however. The company, which was acquired by Flokk in 2018, is fully engaged in the quest for truly circular production. Innovation in the field is high on its agenda, and while answering the call for neuroergonomics was key, it was also imperative that Snap moved things on from a sustainability perspective. “They impose sustainability on a completely different level than we are used to,” says Fagerström, who is more accustomed to being the disruptor in the design process, presenting challenges to factory design managers and engineers. But in Profim’s stateof- the-art factory in Turek in Poland, constructed after a fire wiped most of the production facilities in late 2019, Note discovered an impressive team with uncompromising technological and circular ambitions. Most materials are sourced close to the site, upholstery is assembled without glue or staples, the fluffy filling is 100 per cent recycled polyester fibres, and the number of components and recycled waste is minimised.
With pioneering solutions to sustainable production on the table, and answers to all their technical design challenges, Note were the ones having to adapt. “We didn’t want any of the techy features to be shown. With no glue or nails, there are lots of wires inside to make it 100 per cent circular. So I think that was the challenging part for us – dumbing down the high tech to make it look as simple as possible,” says Fagerström.
By designing contract seating that is atypically soft yet durable, relaxing but formal, simple but circular, solid but easy to disassemble, Note has created a chair that snaps together and snaps apart (yes, this is the origin of the name) in record time to make the consummate comfortable conversation starter.
This story was originally featured in OnOffice 171, Summer 2025. Discover similar stories by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here
