Kiaura Collection: seating designed around the body in motion
Through the application of a new patented technology, Kiaura chairs redefine the experience of sitting. KI introduces the concept of Human Performance Seating, a category that goes beyond ergonomics to explore the benefits of a new way of interacting with chairs.
Designed and created by Aaron DeJule for KI, the Kiaura Collection is not just another seating project, but a new product category that challenges the long-standing assumption that sitting means immobility through the application of the new Cognetic Technology.
The original inspiration dates back several years and stems from DeJule’s personal experience. After a serious car accident, he began experiencing difficulty sitting for extended periods of time. Frustrated by the limitations of traditional seating, he started exploring how a chair could work in harmony with the body rather than restrict its movement.
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Kiaura Collection:
The heart of the Kiaura Collection: Cognetic Technology
Invented by industrial designer and DeJule LLC founder Aaron DeJule through years of prototyping and observation, this new technology is based on a multi-axial movement system that responds to gravity and adapts to even the slightest shifts in the body, delivering a fluid, intuitive, and restorative seating experience. The result is a new approach to sitting, built on continuous balance and natural motion.
The technology makes its first full commercial application within the Kiaura Collection – premiered at the KI Inspiration Center during Chicago Design Days – a coordinated family of task, conference, and lounge chairs, complemented by matching tables and ottomans, developed by KI, the Wisconsin-based manufacturer of furniture solutions for workplace, education, healthcare, and hospitality environments.
“When I invented Cognetic Technology, I sought to create a chair that ‘disappears,’” said DeJule. “That vision is realized in the Kiaura Collection, which effortlessly micro-adjusts to your movements in real time. By working in harmony with gravity and the body’s natural mechanics, it provides continuous support without ever having to think about it.”
The new concept of Human Performance Seating
“Humans were never meant to stop moving, our brains and bodies benefit from movement.” – this, in short, is the result highlighted by the research conducted by KI to explore the relationship between physical engagement, comfort, concentration, and overall well-being. With the support of studies from neuroscience, ergonomics, physical therapy, sports performance, and human factors design, the research confirmed a shared principle: the human body benefits from continuous and varied activity rather than from long periods of inactivity. The collection therefore represents a broader shift beyond the traditional product typology.
With this introduction, KI officially defines the concept of Human Performance Seating, a category that goes beyond ergonomics to consider the performance benefits that come from sitting differently. An example of this concept can be found in a four-hour study test: after extended work sessions using the new seating solutions, participants recorded reduced anxiety levels, improved visual and auditory cognitive processing abilities, and decreased discomfort in the lower back and pelvic area.
The movement enabled by the products also helps counteract the effects commonly associated with prolonged sedentary behavior, including muscle stiffness, physical discomfort, and fatigue. Tony Besasie, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at KI, states: “This is more than a new seating collection, it’s a platform that introduces a different expectation for what it can do for the body over the course of a workday. People feel that difference almost immediately.”
The Art of Flow and the first recognitions
During this year’s edition of Chicago Design Days, KI presented The Art of Flow, an immersive installation created to showcase the Kiaura Collection while transforming the act of sitting into an experience of generative art.
Visitors were invited to sit on a lounge chair equipped with the patented Cognetic Technology, while a dedicated system recorded the micro-movements generated during the experience in real time. Individual inputs – including changes in balance, pressure variations and postural adjustments – were translated into a visual representation called the Cognetograph: an artistic visualization of the body’s movements while sitting. As Besasie explains, the experience was created to make visible what normally remains invisible.
As further evidence of the innovation introduced by this new series, KI recently announced that the Kiaura Collection received a total of seven recognitions at the Best of NeoCon Awards 2026, including the prestigious Best of Competition in the Integrated Technology category for Cognetic Technology. The collection also received the Best of NeoCon Innovation Award in the Integrated Technology category, while the products earned five Best of NeoCon Gold Awards across the following categories: Ergonomic Seating (Task Seating), Collections for Collaboration (Collection with Cognetic Technology), Sofas + Lounge (Lounge Seating), Seating: Conference (Task Seating), and Lounge Furniture Collections (Lounge Seating).
Designed by Aaron DeJule and manufactured by KI, Kiaura is conceived for the commercial and professional environments, featuring an essential architectural aesthetic and a wide range of configurations made possible by an extensive selection of materials and advanced technical knit fabrics.
