[February 04, 2016]

Bretford® Introduces Emoji™ Desking + Seating for Active Learning Environments

With the goal of meeting the sensory needs of children, youth and adults while keeping the learning space active, Bretford Manufacturing, Inc.^®, a U.S.-based manufacturer of technology-enabled furniture for 21^st century learning and working environments, today introduced the Emoji Desking + Seating Series. The new Emoji line is being unveiled in the Bretford booth (#2570) during the 2016 TCEA Expo, Feb. 3-5 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

The elements in our environment, such as desks and chairs, affect us both physically and emotionally. The new Emoji line of desking and seating was designed with the physical and emotional well-being of children and adults in mind.

According to Dan Rucker, product manager, furniture and power solutions for Bretford Manufacturing, Inc. "Our well being is greatly affected by our architectural surrounding, the technology we touch, and what we experience with all of our five senses. But wellness is beyond physical - it's also emotional. We carry our emotions with us while we journey through the day. It's hard enough for an individual to concentrate and perform at a high level with distractions happening around them. A desk or chair should never add stress or discomfort to an individual."

Rucker continued, "Emoji Desking + Sating products were conceived to work with how we think and feel as we learn and work throughout every stage of life. For example, the child chair is soft and playful while the adult chair is styled with sophistication and the back support mimics an adult's spine and pelvis. A chair and a desk should work together as an eco-system, and the Emoji desk functions much like the seating in that way. Both are designed to create an environment that stimulates learning, promotes positive emotions, and activates the space for making purposeful change."

Emoji was pre-designed with features to improve well-being. These five critical attributes are:

1. Color combinations that can be used as tools for learning or enhancing mood

2. Materials used to dampen and reduce sound-related distraction

3. Multi-posture support and textured parts to minimize fidgeting and improve comfort

4. Specialized features like a smiley face shaped handle for a child creates positive social-emotional conditions for learning

5. Endless arrangements of the desks guide quick, stress-free planning

To read an article about Emoji and sensory ergonomics, click here.

Emoji Desking

The Emoji desks feature a simplified design so they can be rearranged to fit together in many different ways, which creates an easy planning paradigm. The universal table shape allows classroom planners and instructors to achieve virtually any configuration, cluster pattern, or grid. This helps make classroom transitions less stressful with fewer disruptions for the students. The desks come with either rectangle or convex tops, with a 4-leg or sled base, and with caster or glide options.

Emoji Seating

Emoji chairs address the specific physical and emotional needs of every age. Their features boost mood and create a calming effect that builds and maintains a positive experience for children, and a refined, performance-driven experience for adults.

Emoji seating is available in bright primary colors and neons to increase energy, creativity, and activity as well as in muted colors to promote relaxation, calmness, and focus. The "textured zones" keep chair parts that are rough away from touch areas, but use them to hold a person firmly in their seat while the rubberized bumpers and quiet casters eliminate ambient noise. All the Emoji chairs have seatback flexibility with a shell design that allows for fluid posture change and spontaneous movement and the perforated seat patterns are slotted for natural aeration.

The entire Emoji line is available in child, youth, and adult sizes and can be fully customized in a variety of shell and frame colors, laminates, desk top shapes, and leg base styles. The furniture is lightweight, mobile, and stackable making it ideal for any active learning space. And it is compatible within the line as well as with other Bretford furniture.

Emoji Contest at TCEA

Bretford is holding a "Which Emoji Are You?" contest in which two winners will receive a $250 American Express (News - Alert) gift card. To enter, visitors at the Bretford booth must pick an Emoji card that best describes their personality. They simply complete the submission form with the information. Contestants can also enter on Twitter (News - Alert) by tweeting @Bretford with a picture of them with their Emoji card. They must use #myEmoji to enter. Winners will be announced on February 15, 2016.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160204005763/en/

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