Nam Soojung Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Vapora Microwave Steamer in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design

Nam Soojung honored for bakeware, tableware, drinkware and cookware design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 27, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Vapora Microwave Steamer by Nam Soojung, designed for Delione, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design category. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 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 scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the Silver A' Design Award Means

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

More About Vapora Microwave Steamer

Vapora is a microwave steamer designed for faster and healthier cooking. The steamer combines gentle steam with grill like dry heat. The body and vented lid are made of heat resistant food grade platinum silicone, and the vents regulate internal pressure for even steam circulation. An elevated tray of syndiotactic polystyrene absorbs microwave energy and transfers heat to the food from below, improving texture while keeping ingredients moist. Excess water and fat drain away for lighter meals. Vapora is easy to use, clean and store.

About Nam Soojung

HIVE KOREA is a design-driven organization focused on creating practical solutions for daily life. The company specializes in product planning and development, with a track record of successful projects on global crowdfunding platforms. Based in South Korea, the team develops household items that combine functional design with durable materials. By analyzing user needs, the firm provides tools that help simplify home activities and improve efficiency in the kitchen. HIVE KOREA maintains a consistent approach to manufacturing, ensuring each object meets quality standards while contributing to a structured and organized living environment for consumers worldwide.

Award Record

Nam Soojung is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

About the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award

The A' Kitchenware Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good kitchenware designs by best kitchenware brands and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to kitchenware designers, product designers, industrial design studios and kitchenware brands from all countries. Entries typically include pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls and glasses. Awarded kitchenware designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/kitchenware

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/180640
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180640
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180640
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/379427
Further Information from the Laureate: https://kck.st/4nsLi2j

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

###

Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Vapora Microwave Steamer
Function: Microwave Steamer
Category: Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
Discipline: Industrial Design
Industry: Furniture & Home and Food & Hospitality
Colors: Silver, Gainsboro, Dark Gray, Maroon and Gray
Images: 5
Client: Delione

The Recognition

Laureate: Nam Soojung
Country: Republic of Korea
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2025 - 2026
Design ID: #180640

Credits

Team: Soojung Nam, Woohyun Bach and Dennis Hon

Design Details

Unique Properties: Vapora combines gentle steam with grill like dry heat for faster, healthier cooking. a heat resistant silicone body and vented lid regulate pressure and ensure even circulation. inside, an elevated SPS tray absorbs heat and transfers it to food from below, creating better texture while keeping ingredients moist. excess water and fat drain away, producing lighter meals. easy to use, clean, and store, it transforms everyday microwave cooking into a premium experience.
Inspiration: this project was inspired by repeated observations that conventional microwave steamers produced uneven results and lacked surface texture. drawing on materials research and thermal-flow analysis, the design team explored combining regulated steam circulation with dry-heat transfer from a high-performance tray. the goal was to elevate microwave cooking to professional standards of consistency, flavor, and safety through engineering-driven design.
Research: material research aimed to develop a safe microwave steamer. through comparative analysis, we evaluated glass, PP, and PPSU against platinum silicone. results showed glass is heavy, PPSU expensive, and PP unsafe at high heat. platinum silicone, being FDA approved and 220 C resistant, was ideal but lacked rigidity. the key insight was integrating a rigid SPS inner tray for structure. Impacting society, this affordable design sets a new standard for safe, functional, and healthy cookware.
Challenge: the main challenge was balancing the flexibility of food grade platinum silicone with the structural rigidity required for safe handling at 220 C. complying with strict FDA and LFGB safety laws restricted material choices. overcoming the production complexity of integrating a rigid heat absorbing SPS tray within a flexible silicone body was a major hurdle. additionally, we had to shift the social perspective that microwave cooking yields poor soggy results by delivering grill like quality.
Realization and Technology: the body and vented lid are compression molded from heat resistant, food grade platinum silicone for structural and thermal stability. the internal heating tray is injection-molded using Syndiotactic Polystyrene (SPS), a high heat polymer chosen for its microwave absorbing capabilities. the product's geometry and venting mechanisms were engineered utilizing computational thermal flow analysis to optimize pressure regulation and ensure even steam circulation throughout the cooking cycle.
Operation and Interaction: users simply place ingredients on the elevated tray, secure the lid, and microwave. the smartly vented lid automatically regulates internal steam pressure, requiring no manual adjustment. post cooking, flexible, cool touch handles ensure safe removal. unlike standard microwaving that leaves food soggy, the heat absorbing tray delivers a unique grill like texture while preserving moisture. this intuitive, hands off interaction makes healthy, gourmet style cooking fast and effortless.
Project Duration and Location: the project started in april 2025 in Seoul, South Korea, with initial conceptualization and material research. the engineering and prototyping phases were successfully completed in January 2026. mass production and the official global market launch took place in February 2026. the design introduces a new standard for sustainable, efficient, and healthy microwave culinary preparation.
Specifications: technical specifications (Metric ISO): main steamer: 168 mm W x 285 mm D x 88 mm H. weight: 1518 g. mini pot: 128 mm W x 167 mm D x 106 mm H. material: 6 mm high density food grade platinum silicone. temperature range: minus 40 to 230 C. packaging: modular, nestable design optimized for minimum volumetric footprint and efficient logistics.
Keywords: Microwave Steamer, Platinum Silicone, Sustainable Cookware, Healthy Cooking, DeliOne, Kitchen Innovation, Grill Steamer, Eco-friendly Kitchenware, Pressure Regulation, Meal Prep