The Swedish designer Jan Dranger conceived this chair in the early 1980s when he observed that new types of furniture were needed to accommodate the proliferation of different forms of media and communication. "To develop designs and systems that combine solutions of rational simplicity with greater variety and human touch - that's the challenge of our time" he said. Dranger designed the Media Chair as a flexible and adaptable hub for different activities, such as listening to music, reading, watching television, or conversing. Thus, the chair is fitted with a reading light, a bag for papers or remote controls, and a foldaway writing table complete with drink stand. It even came with a detachable ashtray (not visible), an indicator of the changed norms of behaviour since this chair was new. Had he designed the chair a decade or so later, no doubt Dranger would also have incorporated a computer keyboard and wiring for internet access. This was a prescient design that responded to lifestyle changes in a fast moving world.