Dear Perks, Now you are in my department. I have a degree in interior architecture and studied furniture design. First off, on behalf of the board and all its posters, I truly am sorry your sciatic nerve is burning a b!tch down your left leg and your right hamstring is strained from trying hold your left buttcheek off the board of your cheap chair and that the padding has been displaced by your ischial tuberosities.
First of all, don't blame the desk. Industry standard has always been 29 - 30 inches. With the exception of Frank Lloyd Wright who was short of stature and long of talent, nobody ever really thought of adjusting desk heights until recently. Chairs, yes. Desks, no. Unfortunately for shorter people, by the time they lower the chair to allow their feet to touch the floor, they are looking upward, putting strain on the neck, shoulders and all the way down to the lower back and beyond. Today, it's possible to find desks that lower to many different heights.
Herman Miller, a giant in the world of office furniture, was probably the first to use adjustable desk heights. However, Herman Miller also invented the dreaded office cubicle. So they arent always right.
However they do make the most wonderful ergonomic chair on earth - the Aeron. First off, the Aeron comes in 3 sizes - realizing that people come in all shapes and sizes. You basically choose an Aeron like you would a shirt - small, medium or large. The key differences in the Aeron and other chairs is the tilt and the support. First, it has a natural tilt that conforms to the body. Then its suspension system immediately adjusts to changes in position. The idea is to let the chair do the work - not to play with levers and buttons and stuff.
The chair is pricey but there are several online catalog places that offer it at huge discounts. If you work at a desk for more than 4 or 5 hours at a stretch, it's worth the money. For many people, you spend as much time in your chair as you do on your mattress (aint that sad?) and so you should take as much care choosing a chair as you do a mattress.
Gaudi actually had the right idea when designing furniture. In Park Guell in Barcelona, there is a bench that goes all around the exterior of the rooftop park. Gaudi literally had a naked man sit in wet plaster to determine the proper form to conform with the body. Perhaps someone can sit you naked in wet plaster and try the same...
Seriously, if you are interested in investing in a proper chair at huge discounts, let me know off the board and I can refer you to great furniture discounters. My desk is vintage -- it was my father's as a child -- but my chair is an Aeron. Persi