For some people what the chair looks like will be of prime importance, for others that will be less important. There are, however, a few points here that all office chair buyers could benefit from taking into account:
Your office decor
If you have a fairly large office with a tasteful, timeless ambiance, a chair with a more traditional design covered in leather or perhaps good quality imitation leather could be a good choice. The situation is different if you are e.g. the female head of design at a modern advertising studio, and the rest of your office says “I am a millennial. I am chic, I am with-it”. In that case an ultra-modern chair covered in trendy colors should do the trick.
Your position
It’s not hard to imagine how your job could affect your choice of office chair. We’ve already touched on this in the previous paragraph. Your office chair says something about you, so make sure it says what you want it to say.
If you are the MD of Microsoft your office chair should shout: “I’m the boss. I’m a nice guy, up to a point. But I don’t play around.” Think fully adjustable, thickly padded, neutral colors, projecting an overall feel of quality, reliability and authority.
On the other hand, if you are a junior manager choosing an office chair for your first ever real office after spending years in a cubicle, you would probably want your chair to say: “Watch me. I’m on the way up, although I’m not quite there yet.” Modern styling, brighter colors than the boss’s office chair, and contemporary materials should do it.