Colin Bisset's Iconic Designs — the history of the comfortable chair

Design critic and writer, Colin Bisset tells the story of civilisational decline through the design history of the comfy chair. From the Chesterfield to the mid-century winged chair - designed to facilitate concentration, attentiveness, and comfort - through to the anti-bourgeois beanbag chair of the 60s, before finally arriving at the contemporary “bin bag school of design” in which the chair-cum-bed – a bag of upholstery stapled to a frame - is designed for sprawling, scrolling, and mindless consumption.

Find more of Colin's iconic designs on the ABC Listen app or on the Iconic Designs page.