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Sci-Fi Furniture? A look at Biomorph desks

By: Anthony D. Coppedge
Church Media Consultant

If you're stuck behind a computer for most of your work week, you've undoubtedly suffered from backaches or wrist and hand pain from hours in what's usually an uncomfortable position.

That's because most office furniture is designed for looks and not for comfort. While we've all heard of hyper-expensive ergonomic furniture, most of us thought it was just priced insanely out of our reach.

I thought that, too, until I heard about a company called Biomorph. I talked with the President and Design Director of Biomorph, Stephen Barlow-Lawson. He gave me a bit of background about the beginnings of the company.

" Until now, computer furniture was not made to incorporate the computer or to fit the user," he says. "This has caused discomfort, pain and sometimes serious injury." He told me that his desire was to make desks that fit both the people and the workflow of their particular job. "Biomorph Interactive Desks are designed for computer equipment with one important added factor: for the people who have to sit at them."

I found out from Stephen that one of my largest clients, Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, had not one, but two of the Biomorph desks in their video editing suites. My boys at Prestonwood had been holding out on me!

The first thing I did was head over to the church and plop myself down behind one of the Personal model desks. "Now this is how it's supposed to be during those long edit sessions," I proclaimed to the grinning editors, Peter Shay and Micah Whitehead.

The flexibility of the desks is in the ingenious crank system (manual or electric options) that allows the monitorsurface to raise or lower independently of the keyboard/mousing area.

" Because I can adjust the screen and keyboard levels, I don't get tired as quickly. Being a tall guy, I often have a harder time working long hours at desks I don't fit well at," explains Shay.

Whitehead pipes in, "At the end of the day after using the Biomorph desk I go home relaxed. I do not have to conform the way I work to a desk, but instead I get to conform the desk to what is best for me."

Peter explained that his tall 6 foot 2 1/2 inch frame didn't fit well behind most desks, where he had to lower the seat, only to find his arms were at an uncomfortable position when typing or using the mouse during editing (see how tall he is??).

Both Shay and Whitehead’s desks are used to edit on Apple Final Cut Pro systems with the 23-inch Cinema HD displays, Sony 9” reference broadcast monitors, Genelec near-field speakers, a small audio mixing console, time code clip sheets plus the keyboard and mouse (and the occasional Starbucks™ coffee mug).

In other words, they use the same basic setup found in lots of church video editing rooms. The difference is, it all fits and is part of their natural workflow.

I’ve edited on folding tables, computer hutches, office furniture and so-called computer desks before. In every instance, I was adding card tables and folding tables or coffee tables to help hold all of the necessary editing gear; it just never fit on the one table. Not only is this not conducive to a long editing session, it’s cluttered and not usually very sturdy. This is especially true of the typical pressed particle-board office furniture that can be had at the major office furniture mega stores.

Biomorph makes eight desk types, plus add-ons and lighting, storage & extensions, and ergonomic chairs to boot. Prestonwood opted to add the double-elbow monitor arm for both desks to hold and move the Sony 9” video reference monitor.

Remember how I said that most of us are led to believe that custom-type furniture is priced astronomically high? The pleasant surprise is that the Biomorph line of desks starts at only $725 and their very largest desks start at $2,295. The Personal line, such as the two at Prestonwood, start at $1,395.

It’s more expensive than the $499 pressed particle board office furniture, but we all know how long that stuff lasts. The Biomorph desks come with a 5 year warranty and are made to last.

Perhaps Micah Whitehead summed it up best when he said, “The Biomorph desk is the best workstation I have ever worked at. Not only are they practical and great to use, but they have a stylish appeal that all will love.”

Anthony Coppedge provides consulting to Churches for developing a media ministry and choosing the right equipment, Manufacturers for developing new products and marketing strategies to reach the church market and Dealers for sales training and systems integration development for working with churches. He lives in Bedford, Texas with his wife and two daughters and can be reached at anthony@anthonycoppedge.com

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