June 25, 2019

The Coolest New Products at NeoCon 2019

This year at NeoCon over 500 commercial design manufacturers from around the world came together to showcase their innovative new products. They compete to stand out and draw a buzz among visitors and exhibitors. After exploring the Merchandise Mart for three days, I’ve put together what I thought were some of the coolest new products displayed there.

To start, the new Steelcase Flex collection was a big hit and drew major crowds at the show. The product line consists of mobile worksurfaces, markerboards, privacy screens and power accessories. The height adjustable desks feature integrated rollers, giving workers the choice to push them together for collaborative work, or move to a quiet corner when needed. The line also includes a clever power solution workers can grab and go to charge their mobile devices. Flex won a Best of NeoCon Gold Award in the furniture collections for collaboration category.

Next, the Vectra chair by SitOnIt is a new, innovative task chair with a aerodynamic look. The chair focuses on customization, offering a variety of options, designs, and accent colors to choose from. Besides looking cool, it offers active lumbar and tension support to provide a high level of ergonomics.

Finally, Obeya by OFS was a very cool architectural product. Designed to simplify and define space by using a framework of wood. Settings can be created based on the needs for privacy or collaboration. The options and customization is what made this product so appealing and innovative to me. Obeya won a Best of Competition Gold Award.