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Did you know an excellent chair can enhance your productivity by 17.7%? Let’s not forget the prevalent back pain plus neck, arm, and leg strain the right chair can help you avoid.
High-end chairs like the Embody and Gesture provide you with worthwhile furniture selections. But in a Steelcase Gesture vs Herman Miller Embody battle, only one emerges on top? So, which one?
Although Gesture vs Embody differs in many ways, armrest and lumbar support flexibility, reclining, and backrest technologies are most prominent. While the Gesture is superior in flexibility, the latter has better longevity and reclining function.
Here are comprehensive comparisons and a buying guide that allow you to pick your preference easily. Continue reading to find out your next chair in only 10 minutes.
Table of Contents
Steelcase Gesture vs Herman Miller Embody: Differences and Similarities
| Feature | HM Embody | Gesture |
| Chair dimensions (inches) | 29 by 29.5 by 43.5 | 23.63 by 29.05 by 44.5 |
| Seat depth (inches) | 15 to 18 | 15 ¾ to 18 ¼ |
| Chair height (inches) | 16 to 20.5 | 47 to 57 |
| Seat width (inches) | 29.5 | 20 |
| Arm height (inches) | 4.7 | 7 ¼ to 11 ½ |
| Chair weight (lbs) | 61.73 | 66 |
| Max. weight capacity (lbs) | 300 | 400 |
| Warranty (years) | 12 | 12 |
| Lumbar support | Yes: Adaptable | Yes: Add-on |
| Headrest | No | Yes |
| Seat depth adjustment | Yes | Yes |
| Casters | Dual-wheel carpet | Dual-wheel carpet |
| Production country | USA | Mexico |
Price
Based on what feature you’ll be seeking in these chairs, you may pay more for one over the other.
For instance, opting for the Steelcase Gesture leather option may raise your expenses upwards of $500 compared to the fabric option. Likewise, getting the Gesture with a headrest means spending around $200 more.
When it comes to the Herman Miller Embody, your price may rise by about $800 from the minimum, depending on your upholstery, frame, and caster selections.
Nonetheless, if you consider the base options with the fully loaded adjustment packages, the Gesture is less expensive than the Embody.
Verdict
Both chairs have high-end prices due to their quality provisions. Although their prices are comparable, the Steelcase Gesture gets the crown for having a budget-friendlier base offering.
Backrest and Lumbar Support
The Gesture backrest’s Live Back mechanism is a unique and exciting feature. It gives you multiple support zones and a lot of flexibility from the back to adjust yourself while the chair stays with you.
Even in the locked position, the Gesture backrest allows some give. Also, it doesn’t have rigid edges that may make you uncomfortable as you shift in the chair. Thanks to the Steelcase Gestures high back design, it supports the entire back length for many individuals.
What’s more?
The Gesture features a moderate curve to give your back ample support and allow you to sit in a proper posture. It also includes height-adjustable lumbar support to alter the inclusion based on where you need it.
The Embody backrest takes the same design as the seat. It features a nodal support system designed to move and flex with your body.
Notably, this backrest is more responsive than the Gesture one, aligning better to your movements. Plus, it has a nice natural curve that allows you to sit healthily.
While in the locked position, the Embody backrest offers some flexibility like the Gesture one, though slightly more. You also get a high back design like the Gesture. So, it’s supportive throughout the back’s length for short to tall individuals.
Furthermore, the Embody backrest has one of the thinnest designs. It may not look like it, but it offers loads of support, especially with the responsive mechanism adopted. Plus, the thinness allows you to flex the backrest easier than the Gesture and lowers the chair’s weight.
Sadly, you won’t get adjustable lumbar support with the Embody. But, you get adequate support to your lower back, and given the immense flexibility, the chair realigns to meet your support requirements.
Verdict
Movement and freedom on the Gesture chair are a big bonus. The padding, curve, adjustable lumbar support, and flexibility ensure you get one of the best back supports.
Nonetheless, the Embody backrest boasts superior flexibility, conforming to your sitting mannerisms better for enhanced comfort. So, Embody shines in this field.
Shipping and Policies
Both the Gesture and the Embody come fully assembled. You get to save on installation tools and time and can start testing their ergonomics right off the box.
Notably, both production companies require their chairs returned with the original packaging. So, before you’re sure that you like these chairs, it’s best to keep the packaging around until the elapse of the return window.
Both chairs also have similar warranty durations. You get a 12-year grace period with 24/7 usage.
However, Herman Miller technicians can come to your place to fix your chairs in case of an issue if you leave close to one of their outlets. On the other hand, Steelcase sends you replacement parts or the complete chair.
Verdict
Steelcase and HM provide some of the best warranties on chairs. While their policies and shipment procedures are almost similar, Gesture takes the lead here. Whereas the Gesture warranty applies to a 400-pound user limit, the Embody chair covers users up to 300-lbs.
Controls and Usage Simplicity
Often, high-end chairs not only look stylish and have immense versatility but give you less stress to exploit their numerous features. The Steelcase Gesture and HM Embody chairs are no different.
To the right of the Gesture chair, just underneath the seat pan, are its knobs and adjustment system. When you sit in your Gesture, you can control everything by reaching your hand to this section. You don’t need to bend to the front or stand to tweak it to your needs.
Not to mention, they are super sleek and hidden. So, you won’t have a ton of knobs sticking out, which makes for a neat appearance.
The Embody also provides a neat look though its’ controls aren’t as hidden as those on the Gesture. Moreover, it tends to be a tad noisier than the Gesture when moving. But, sounds in the high-end range are commonplace, considering the plastic additions to lower the weight.
Verdict
Whereas the Embody may slightly surpass the Gesture in build quality, the design of its adjustment controls falls a little behind the latter. With the Gesture, it’s much easier to use the chair, saving you the hassle and time.
Seat Comfort
The Embody has a unique seat featuring a pixelated design underneath the seat pan. It doesn’t have a traditional padding system. Instead, it has a negligible layer of padding, so it isn’t an ideal choice if you love a thick plush cushioning to sink into.
Still, the HM Embody feels way more comfortable than most office chairs, including the Fern, which features a generous cushioning layer. It feels moderately soft as it creates a suspended sensation.
Plus, the Embody adjusts position based on your sitting posture and how you’re adjusting in the chair. Due to the overly broad seat without a smooth edge and also the pixelated design, it’s a top choice if you value flexibility in your seat.
Meanwhile, the Gesture features a decent amount of plush padding. It allows you to sink in, creating a softer experience than the Embody. While not as wide as the Embody, it’s still spacious and has no restrictive edges allowing easy maneuverability.
Verdict
The Gesture’s seat design is highly responsive to movement. Grabbing and twisting the front part shows you how simple it is for it to adjust to your position. Even a slight change of your leg shifts the cushioning ensuring you feel soft and cozy.
As such, it’s slightly better than the Embody, though the latter is still super comfortable, though using a different mechanism.
Armrests
The versatility of the Gesture armrests isn’t something you’ll easily come across on an office chair. Due to the cantilever design, the chair provides you with a unique way to tweak the arms.
Adjusting the Gesture armrests’ height is as simple as pulling them up or down. You also have a massive width adjustment range, letting you place them close or far from your sides. The arm caps go front to back, and you can also pivot them and move them in and out to get a precise level of support.
The Gesture arm pads are comfortable and soft. Although they have a bit of an edge, they are still soft and provide comfortable platforms to rest your arms. They also feel solid and don’t wobble or wiggle around.
As for the Embody, it has nice arm pads with high versatility for the two adjustments available.
With their over-the-top height adjustment range, the HM Embody arms align to suit everyone’s preferred arm height. The lowest setting puts them entirely out of the way, whereas the maximum height is ideal for over 6ft people.
Like the height range, the Embody arms come with an extensive width range suitable for the slim and large. These armrests also have broad, padded platforms without hard edges, ensuring optimal comfort.
Save for the lack of pivoting and forward-to-backward movement on the arms, the Embody arms are some of the best.
Verdict
This is one aspect where it’s pretty clear that the Gesture takes the day. The combination of the arm pads and the four-direction adjustability make them the perfect support for people of many sizes in numerous use cases.
Ergonomic Adjustments
Both chairs have seat height adjustment, seat depth adjustment, tension controls, and a multi-position tilt limiter.
As seen, the Embody arms only come with width and height adjustability. On the other hand, the Gesture allows you to pivot and slide them back and forth, besides the Embody’s flexibility capabilities.
Whereas the Gesture comes with a height-adjustable lumbar, you won’t get the same with the Embody.
However, the Embody outsmarts the Gesture by including an independent back angle adjustment. You can set the backrest to a specific position before you recline. You get a good posture ideal for demanding engagements when you fully turn the backrest angle anticlockwise.
You have more or less lumbar support based on how you position the Embody backrest. It isn’t an outright lumbar support inclusion, but indirect or not, it plays an excellent role in guaranteeing user comfort.
Although Gesture’s Live Back technology offers immense support, it isn’t the best for those seeking an option for challenging, focused assignments. Even when you lock the Gesture in the fully upright position, there’s a bit of play given its design, leading to considerably more give.
You can’t really work upright on the Gesture as there’s some wiggle to the backrest.
Verdict
Though having a highly versatile lumbar support and armrests, the Gesture comes second to the Embody. The independent back angle adjustment and responsive backrest make up for its lack of adjustable lumbar support.
You still get a reasonable degree of flexibility and support. Plus, you can work in a fully upright position. You won’t manage this with the Gesture while still leaning on the backrest.
Recline
The Gesture has a standard synchro-tilt mechanism. As you lean against the back, the seat inclines a notch to ensure an excellent ergonomic posture throughout the entire recline.
The Steelcase Gesture provides excellent recline capabilities if you like to tilt your chair and sit at an angle. However, it isn’t the best option if you love to rock around, tilting all the way and then back upright.
On the other hand, the Embody comes with incredible harmonic tilt capabilities synonymous with Herman Miller chairs. While reclining, your butt sinks quite a bit further than the Gesture.
You can achieve a nice rocking motion with the Embody, in which your body stays at a somewhat similar angle. It creates a smooth motion that hardly requires effort to rock back and forth in the chair.
Verdict
The HM Embody provides better reclining capabilities. Maintaining the same angle throughout your recline ensures you get ample support to rock back and forth while hardly putting in any work. It’s an excellent pick when watching TV or talking on the phone.
Still, if you love a good static reclined position, the Gesture is your go-to option.
Build Quality
You can’t go wrong with Steelcase and Herman Miller chairs if you’re looking for something that does an excellent job and performs impeccably for ages. With their warranty reaching 12 years, you’re sure the construction is solid to last up to that time and beyond.
The Steelcase Gesture has a 3D knit upholstery design with two fabric options. One allows you to showcase the chair’s spine while the other wraps around it. Meanwhile, the Embody features a unique pixelated back with a sturdy fabric on the front.
Both chairs come with durable aluminum frames, though the Gesture has more plastic add-ons than the Embody. Still, more plastic components aren’t a big deal as Steelcase uses premium-grade plastics that last extended durations.
Verdict
The Herman Miller Embody tops here for having a little fewer plastics. Nonetheless, the Gesture is still highly durable as even its plastic parts can last 12 or more years, given good care.
Herman Miller Embody vs Steelcase Gesture: Pros and Cons
Herman Miller Embody
What I liked
Backrest flexibility: The Embody comes with an independent backrest adjustment to adjust the back angle. Based on the positioning, the backrest provides variable amounts of lumbar support, allowing you to customize the feel.
Design and build quality: With a pixelated seat and back, sturdy polyester fabrics, and a robust aluminum frame, with some plastics, the Embody provides a durable option. Only chairs with incredibly high durability can get warranties lasting 12 years, like this unit.
Reclining smoothness: As your backrest moves while reclining, so does your seat. The HM Embody ensures the user maintains an ergonomic angle while reclining for optimal comfort.
Fantastic rocking capabilities: The Embody backrest moves in tandem with the recline motion. Besides, there’s the backrest-seat angle maintenance while reclining. As a result, this chair is an excellent choice for those who like to rock.
Comfort: This chair realigns based on your movements thanks to the pixelated seat and back. You have the adjustable back, armrest, seat depth, chair height, and more, allowing you to customize it to your needs.
Upright locking: Those who like to sit fully upright during tasks that demand high focus have everything to smile about the Embody. The backrest stays put once locked to ensure you remain in your desired right-angled stance.
What I didn’t like
Pricing: As expected of premium provisions, the Embody doesn’t come cheap. You’ll even spend more on this chair than the Gesture while getting the base versions.
Limited armrest movements: Unlike the Gesture, you can’t pivot or slide the armrest.
Regardless, its armrests’ height and width adjustments are extra-extensive to cater to many.
Steelcase Gesture
What I liked
Armrest adjustability: Unlike the Embody, which only allows you to change arm heights and widths, Gesture lets you pivot them and slide them front or back. There’s hardly any activity or body size that these versatile armrests can’t adjust to suit.
Lumbar support flexibility: This chair allows you to easily tweak its lumbar support height by sliding the controls horizontally. Repositioning the add-on based on your physique provides you with better support.
Maximum weight capacity: With the Gesture allowing users of up to 100 more pounds than the limit on the Embody, it’s more inclusive. A 400-pound capacity is quite generous for an office chair and fits many users.
Headrest option: Unlike the Embody that doesn’t feature a headrest, even by third-party providers, you can choose to include the Gesture headrest while purchasing. You can pivot the headrest, move it horizontally, or move in and out to achieve the desired degree of neck and head support.
Controls and ease of use: The chair looks neat, with the Gesture controls nicely tucked away. Moreover, they are within arm’s reach while seated, saving you the hassle of bending or standing to access them.
Warranty and policies: Steelcase provides superb warranties, full-refund durations, and shipment policies. Moreover, their 12-year Gesture warranty covers users of more weight than those of the Embody.
What I didn’t like
Rocking smoothness: The Gesture backrest doesn’t move immediately with you while declining. So, it offers an excellent option for stationery sitting while reclined, but not for rocking movements.
Upright posture position: Because of the 3D Live Back technology, the Gesture gives in slightly even when locked at the full upright position. This isn’t your ideal choice if you like to work with your back at 90 degrees while achieving ample back support.
Steelcase Gesture vs Embody: Buying Guide
Have you taken your pick between Embody vs Gesture yet? If you’re still unsure of the option that suits you, let me summarize the critical aspects that can get you your winner between the two.
User weight limit: Fancy features are pointless if your weight can’t allow you to use the chair and still enjoy the provided warranty. If you’re 300 pounds or less, you have the other features to compare between these two chairs.
But, if you’re beyond 300 pounds, you’re stuck with the Gesture if you only wanted a chair between these two.
Armrest versatility: How flexible do you need your arms? Is a range of movement necessary in your arms, or correct height and distance from your body is enough?
Pivoting and sliding features on the Gesture can help you achieve the precise position for certain activities. For instance, using gaming controllers while arms are pivoted gives you ample support due to the extended platform available.
Headrest: Is a headrest crucial to you, or you’re fine without it? This feature provides you with neck support that may lower strain in this region. It may also help you avoid slouching, scrunching shoulders, and over-pressurizing your back.
Notably, Herman Miller advocates headrest-free usage, which, according to them, promotes proper posture and lowers fatigue.
Whereas the Gesture includes a headrest (on request), the Embody doesn’t have one yet. However, Atlas Headrest is working on an Embody headrest expected to arrive this year. So, this may not be such a deal-breaker after all.
Comfort: The different flexibility features, designs, and materials come together to determine which chair is the most comfortable for your body type and use case.
Would you wish for the better synchronized reclining functionality of the Embody? Can you withstand missing out on the Gesture’s height-adjustable lumbar support?
Maybe, you want the pivoting in the Gesture armrests or the independent back angle flexibility in the Embody.
You’ll also want to consider whether the chair’s uprightness is crucial for your activities. Plus, the simplicity of customizing your chair is vital.
FAQs
Is Steelcase Gesture Better Than Herman Miller?
Whereas Steelcase Gesture is better than Herman Miller in some instances, it comes second in others. The Gesture has better armrest flexibility, user weight limit, pricing, and a headrest option.
On the other hand, the Herman Miller Embody has the better rocking capability, upright locking position, and build quality.
Is the Steelcase Gesture Headrest Worth It?
The Steelcase Gesture headrest is worth it, as you can customize it to fit you. The height is adjustable. You can move it in or out. Also, you can pivot it to a desirable angle.
Is the Steelcase Gesture Comfortable?
The Steelcase Gesture is comfortable thanks to its numerous ergonomic features. You can change the chair height, seat depth, armrest height, width, angle, and distance from the backrest. You can also recline it, lock it in the reclined position, and adjust the lumbar support.
Its Live Back backrest and cozy upholstery are other bonuses.
Conclusion
With all that said, Steelcase Gesture vs Herman Miller Embody, which is better? You’ll have to decide depending on your vital features.
The Embody is perfect for those who like to rock, love robust construction, and like working while fully upright. On the other hand, the Gesture suits those seeking more flexible arms and lumbar support, a headrest, and a higher weight limit.
Whether you get the Embody or Gesture, they both look stylish and provide much comfort for 12 or more years.
Author
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