In our consumer driven society, we've been taught that buying and acquiring things should make us happy. This can prove true, but that feeling of happiness is often fleeting. The act of shopping and buying can bring a rush of short-term fulfillment, but only some purchases provide value and a return on our money over time. I've found the items I continue to enjoy are those of great design and high quality, regardless of what I paid for them.

As the economy has taken a downturn and financial resources become more scarce, smart purchases become more important. I think another result of the state of our economy means people will look for higher quality life experiences, instead of trying to find joy in having more stuff. But this post is about a couple purchases I made that have continued to deliver a great value, because they work and are designed well.

Most people sit in front of a computer all day. I know in my career that I've spent much of my time either sitting in front of my computer at work or at home. I have a bad back, so some chairs become uncomfortable fast. I've gone through a lot of office chairs, but at one job I had a Herman Miller office chair that was extremely comfortable. The last few years I've bought cheap chairs from Office Depot, each only lasting a year or so before they broke.

So I decided to purchase a Herman Miller Aeron Chair for my home office. It's been everything that I remembered. It's so well designed that I don't think I'll ever need to buy another one. I don't believe it's going to wear out, become "less cool", or loose its' comfort. It's the standard that all other chairs are measured by. I could buy 15-20 office chairs during my life, or just this one.

As I dug deeper researching what chair I wanted, I was pleased to learn what a great company Herman Miller is. Here's a video about the company and their design philosophy:

The next item of great design that I want to share is the Dyson vacuum. I have allergies so when my house gets dusty and dirty I begin to sneeze. The place I live has hard wood floors on which I've laid area rugs. Lots of dust gets pumped up through the gas heating vents.

I have had small and large vacuums, that only lasted a year or maybe more. Rarely did they pick up everything off the rugs. I would vacuum for extended periods of time and all the dirt wouldn't get picked up. Sometimes I would get so frustrated with the rug in my office, I would take a lint brush (the one with the sticky tape on it) and roll it over the entire surface area.

When my most recent vacuum stopped picking up dirt, kept getting jammed, and I constantly had to try and fix it, I had had enough. An old roommate of mine had a Dyson vacuum which was amazing to use. It just worked really well. So when I got so frustrated with my last one, I decided to step up and buy a Dyson.

Dyson and the family of products the company creates are of impressive design. Now that I have my new vacuum, I feel just like the office chair, it will be the only vacuum I ever need. Instead of buying a poorly designed vacuum, every couple of years, I will have my Dyson for the next 20. It works that well.

Again, I find the company story also amazing. James Dyson, the inventor, created 5,127 prototypes over five years to perfect his vacuum technology, but was still rejected by manufacturers who where more interested in defending their own products and technologies than adapting and accepting a better one. So he started his own vacuum company that is very successful. Now he works to defend his invention from being copied by all those companies that initially turned him down.

The Dyson vacuum is not the only amazing product they design, the bladeless fans and hand driers are also impressive. To learn more about James Dyson, his company and their great design, check out the website.