…wherever you go, there is a chair waiting for you

HNI Corporation

Selected Projects
Project 01

HNI

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HNI Corporation is the third-largest office furniture manufacturer in the world in regards to revenues resulting from office segment sales, with its headquarters in Muscatine, Iowa U.S.A. Marcus Curtis Design serves as seating design consultant for HNI brands including Hon, Gunlocke and Allsteel.

  • Client: HNI Corporation
  • Role: Design Consultant
  • Year: 2008 - 2013

Hon

Purpose video clip
Project 02

Hon Purpose

As a designer, I'm always looking for the next big idea, for what comes after weight activation. And that's what Purpose is.

  • Client: Hon, Purpose™ Seating
  • Role: Design Consultant
  • Year: 2013

"Observation is my inspiration. When I observe people, I begin to see all the everyday workarounds or temporary fixes they've created just to deal with small problems in their daily lives. We all do it– a pillow on an uncomfortable chair or a stackof books to prop up a low computer screen. Those workarounds add up, and in a workplace setting they can lead to stress, tension and even pain. My designs help correct those problems so people don't have to live with the workarounds. They can focus on the work and be more productive and comfortable."

Bio

Marcus Koepke, furniture designer, was born in Milwaukee and raised in Chicago, Cleveland and Kalamazoo. He grew up in a design environment - his father is an industrial designer - where design was important and fostered a strong and natural design instinct. Marcus began his design career in Boston, MA in 1975 as an in-house and original member of the design team at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), recently acquired by Compaq Corp., and gained valuable insight integrating design into business. During his career with Digital, Marcus received awards for industrial design excellence in the development of workstations, monitors, keyboards, and digital PCs. His was one of the first convertible desktop to floor standing workstations on the market. In 1989, Marcus started his own design practice - Marcus Curtis Design in Michigan. Over the past decade Marcus has completed ten chair lines for various top industry office furniture manufacturers. Marcus Curtis Design office was relocated to Indianapolis, IN in 1994 to become more centralized in the furniture industry and his growing client base.

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