Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Adamas Shoes in Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design

Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi honored for footwear, shoes and boots design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Adamas Shoes by Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi has been granted the A' Design Award in the Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided 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.

The A' Design Award Explained

The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

More About Adamas Shoes

Adamas is a laceless shoe designed for daily wear in the city. The sole has sharp angular facets inspired by unpolished diamonds, while the soft elastic upper wraps the foot closely. The main materials are synthetic rubber and elastic fabric. Computer analysis was used to define the structure and the required mass of each part of the sole. The sole is formed in one piece, which supports fast production, stable footbeds and less material waste. A support structure extends from the sole to the ankle and holds the upper in place.

Award Record

This recognition makes Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2018 - 2019 to 2021 - 2022 of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design Award

The A' Footwear Design Award is an international footwear design competition recognizing good footwears by leading footwear brands and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to footwear designers, shoe designers, boot designers and fashion designers from all countries. Entries typically include shoes, sneakers, sandals, boots, heels and loafers. Awarded footwear designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/footwear

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission 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. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated 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. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates 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, the upload of a work and the 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. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://designers.org/127250
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/127250
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!127250
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/230051

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: Adamas Shoes
Function: Shoes
Category: Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design
Discipline: Fashion Design
Industry: Fashion and Sports
Colors: Black, Snow, Dark Slate Gray, Light Gray and Gainsboro
Images: 5

The Recognition

Laureate: Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi
Country: United States of America
Recognition: A' Design Award
Edition: 2021 - 2022
Design ID: #127250

Credits

Team: Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi
Image Credits: Creator Hengbo Zhang and Wenxi Qi, Adamas, 2020.

Design Details

Unique Properties: The accelerating urbanization has put people's lives in a constant state of tension. Adamas' style reflects the state of existence of urbanites in a rapidly developing technological city. The Adamas' diamond-like angular sole represents a seemingly impenetrable system, but the soft upper gives the foot a sense of complete wrapping and security. It encourages people to challenge authority bravely and seek breakthroughs freely.
Inspiration: The inspiration of Adamas comes from unpolished diamonds. The design of the shoes reflects the designer's view on the future status of urbanization. With an elastic upper and sturdy sole, Adamas is the synthesis of organic soul and ruthless technology. It is like a high-capacity creature from the world of cyberpunk, hiding a peaceful mind in the hardened shell, wandering on the edge of high urbanization. The sharp contrast of forms brings sensory stimulation.
Research: This design aims at innovative research and practice on outsole shape and soft/hard material fit. In the process, we explored the possibility of using computer analysis in shoe design to control the force of materials and improve the wrapping of the upper. At the same time, we also tried to create wrapping strong one-piece outsoles to reduce the waste of manufacturing materials. This design further explores the prospect of high contrast technology style in the future urban lifestyle shoe field in terms of style.
Challenge: The biggest challenge of this design was the need to support the upper using a structure that extends from the sole of the shoe. The streamlined material requires more detail in the side wrap structure.
Realization and Technology: The primary materials used in the production of this footwear design are synthetic rubber and elastic fabric. In this case, the synthetic rubber was optimized by computerized virtual physical algorithms and tests to derive the structure of each part and its required mass. In addition, connections for one-piece molding exists between all aspects of the sole to help achieve rapid processing and footbed stability. At the same time, the support structure extending from the sole to the ankle also provides sufficient bonding space for the upper to ensure proper curvature and wrapping.
Project Duration and Location: The project started in March 2019 in Champaign, IL and finished in June 2019 in Champaign, IL, and was exhibited in Beijing in September 2020 and Los Angeles in April 2021.
Specifications: Length 320mm x Width 115mm x Height 150mm
Keywords: Lifestyle, Computational, Techwear, Laceless Design, Footwear Design