Press Release
Bondo Indoor Sofa by Hongji Yin Wins the Bronze A' Design Award in Furniture Design
Hongji Yin honored for furniture design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 26, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Bondo Indoor Sofa by Hongji Yin has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
About Bondo Indoor Sofa
Bondo is an indoor sofa designed to support social interaction at home. The form of Bondo refers to the social behavior of wolves, which rest and act together. The sofa measures 227 cm in width, 106 cm in depth and 89 cm in height, with a seat height of 38 cm. The internal structure uses precision CNC-cut plywood with a spliced-fill composite backboard. The cover is Knoll fabric, and a decorative walnut backplate replaces the usual box-style assembly. Several units can be joined to form a larger shared seating space.
About Hongji Yin
Yin Hongji is a designer specializing in furniture and lighting design research. Growing up in China, his upbringing was deeply influenced by his family. His mother manages the family's jewelry business, which exposed him to design from a young age and laid the foundation for his appreciation of beauty. Meanwhile, his father, a professor of geological sciences, often took him on outdoor expeditions, fostering a strong connection with nature and providing him with hands-on experiences. These influences shaped his research interests, driving him to explore the intersection of biology and design, as well as the future evolution of creative possibilities.
Award Record
This recognition makes Hongji Yin a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Furniture Design Award
The A' Furniture Design Award is an international furniture competition recognizing good furniture designs by best furniture designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to furniture designers, product designers, industrial design studios and furniture brands from all countries. Typical entries include chairs, tables, sofas, beds, cabinets and shelves. The awarded furniture designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/furniture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/173794
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/173794
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!173794
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/369741
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://rockydesign.myportfolio.com/life-cycle
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Bondo Indoor Sofa
- Function
- Indoor Sofa
- Category
- Furniture Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Gainsboro, Burly Wood, Peru, Sienna and Wheat
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Hongji Yin
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #173794
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Hongji Yin, Bondo, 2024. ]
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Bondo is a prototype that reflects my speculation on social behavior and ecological systems. A sofa often bears functions like social interaction, resting, and food sharing. All of these resonate well with the social behavior of wolves, which are highly efficient and collaborative social animals. By referencing the image of wolves'social interaction, this project is expected to promote indoor activities and facilitate social interaction.
- Inspiration
- The project was inspired by the social behavior and interaction of wolves, which often collaborate to hunt and rest. By incorporating these social features and their symbiotic relationship into the design, I intend to foster interaction and mutual assistance among humans, and ultimately promote interpersonal relationships. Further, this project transcends mere bio-inspiration, boldly exploring the nuanced boundaries of biology, design, aesthetics, and functionality.
- Research
- Through the completion of the project, I conducted profound research into biology, sociology, and human-centered design. To mirror the wolf pack behavior via my design, an ethological analysis and a comparison between human and wolf hunting modes are carried out. I also organized 5 groups, with 3-5 persons each, to simulate living circumstances using the sofa. After meticulously reviewing and analyzing the post-occupancy questionnaires, I adjusted the dimensions of the product accordingly.
- Challenge
- A major challenge is to incorporate features of abstract social behavior patterns into a tangible object. Such disparity between biomimetic abstraction and manufacturability in actual industrial production challenged the proceeding of this sofa design. As a result, I extracted the iconic image of two wolves grooming each other, interpreted it into formal design language using sketches, modeling, and rendering, and ultimately infused such a social mode into the physical construct of my project.
- Realization and Technology
- The sofa is crafted with high-grade Knoll fabric, selected for its superior tactile properties tailored for sublime skin contact. The internal structure features precision CNC-cut plywood, combined with an innovative spliced-fill composite backboard design that optimizes perfect harmony between artistry and stability. Breaking away from conventional box-style assembly, the decorative walnut wood backplate transforms meticulous craftsmanship into a distinctive visual statement.
- Operation and Interaction
- Designed as indoor furniture that advocates social interaction, Bondo could encourage users of all ages to enjoy their lives with a close social distance. People can simply grab a cup of coffee and some snacks and sit with their family to enjoy the latest TV series or watch a breathtaking football match. When we need to host a party of over ten people, we can combine several pieces of this furniture together to form a shared space.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started as a design in October 2023 in Los Angeles and finished in March 2024 in Los Angeles.
- Specifications
- Width 227cm x Depth 106cm x Height 89cm Seat height 38cm
- Keywords
- Nature, Organic, Special Structure, Knoll, Ergonomics, Sculpture Sofa
