A Creative Synergy: Pearson Lloyd and Modus

— 28 April 2026


For over fifteen years, Modus and Pearson Lloyd have worked in partnership to create products that redefine workplace design. One of our most recognised collaborations, the original PLC (or ‘Pearson Lloyd Chair’), was launched in 2010 as a direct response to the burgeoning ‘resimercial’ design scene.

Back in the early 2010s, high-profile global tech firms arriving in the UK were shifting the landscape. They wanted workplaces that weren't just hubs of traditional productivity, but spaces of collaboration, community, and shared identity. This shift influenced the creation of office furniture with a softer, more domestic feel and moving away from the clinical aesthetic of the typical task chair.

Enter PLC: one of our most successful ranges, which has since evolved into lounge, bar, and metal-framed variations. Now, as we look toward our latest collaboration, PLC Studio, we aren't just launching a new chair; we are celebrating over fifteen years of creative synergy.

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Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd with members of the Pearson Lloyd studio and the extended PLC Family

A Shared Language

Pearson Lloyd, led by Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd, describe themselves as designers who "listen to the world for opportunities to improve lives." Their multidisciplinary reach - spanning aviation and urban design to furniture - brings a unique, global perspective to the Modus collection.

At Modus, our product strategy has increasingly leaned into product evolution. We believe it is more resource-efficient and meaningful to build upon successful predecessors, revisiting existing designs to improve sustainability or adapt them to new challenges. This philosophy finds its perfect partner in Pearson Lloyd’s research-driven approach.

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The original PLC family

The PLC Family Tree

The story began fifteen years ago with the original PLC Chair. Rooted in simplicity and craft, it quickly became a Modus classic. Over the years, that single design developed into a versatile family:

  • The Original PLC: A staple of hospitality and casual breakout spaces.
  • The Lounge: Adapted for relaxed atmospheres and leisure zones.
  • The Bar Stool: A natural elevation for social and hospitality settings.
  • PLC Tube (2025): A hospitality-inspired evolution featuring a tubular frame and an industrial edge.

The continued appeal of the PLC range is a testament to Pearson Lloyd’s ability to create "well-made" products that don't just occupy a room but solve a problem.

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PLC Studio - Launching at Clerkenwell Design Week 2026

Looking Forward: An evolutionary mindset

In 2024, Pearson Lloyd’s exhibition, Well Made, explored the qualitative value we place on objects, asking what truly makes a product worthwhile in a modern context. It prompted a vital question: If a product is already well-known and well-made, how can we develop its foundations to meet the needs of today?

This investigation sparked the evolution of the PLC Studio. We took the widely recognised visual language of the PLC and translated it into a modern, flexible workplace tool.

The upcoming launch of PLC Studio is the result of this ongoing dialogue. It is a "light-touch" work chair designed for spontaneous moments, collaborative brainstorms, and hot-desking transitions and those times when a full task chair feels too formal, but a standard side chair lacks the necessary performance.

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Amy Frearson, Luke Pearson & Tom Lloyd

PLC Studio represents the next chapter in our collaborative journey and a new era in light-touch seating, informed by the principles of sustainable product evolution and refined for the workplace.  

Join us this Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 and discover the PLC Studio.

Inspired by what you read? Come and listen to Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd of Pearson Lloyd, and Amy Frearson, editor and journalist, for a live exploration of the circular workplace using the PLC Studio as a physical case study during Clerkenwell Design Week.


19 May
4 - 5.30pm
28-29 Great Sutton Street, EC1V 0DS

Register for the talk here 

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