Press Release
Dirty Dog Toy by Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia recognized for toys, games and hobby products design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design category for Dirty Dog Toy by Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia, designed for Little Hideout. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated 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.
About Dirty Dog Toy
Dirty Dog is a plush toy collection created for companionship and emotional comfort. The collection includes four plush dogs with distinct personalities, united by a consistent design language and color scheme. Small sizes work as portable collectibles, large sizes are made for hugging, and jumbo sizes serve as body pillows for resting. Each plush dog is made from blended plush in varying pile lengths for a layered texture. The surface smudges are applied by hand with pigment powder and an airbrush, turning marks of mud and grass into signs of play and adventure.
About Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia
Yawen Qiang A toy designer currently based in Los Angeles, USA. She graduated from Art Center College of Design with a degree in Product Design. Proficient in both 2D and 3D design, she specializes in character design and transforming character narratives into commercially scalable products. Yiru Zhao A toy designer and handcraft artist based in Tianjin, with 10 years of experience in toy projects. She specializes in R&D processes and toy craftsmanship. Zhao founded Qiu'er Handmade Studio and Qiu'er Painting Studio.
Award Record
This recognition makes Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design Award
The A' Toy Design Award is an international toy design competition recognizing good toy designs by best toy designers, manufacturers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to toy designers, game studios, industrial designers and hobby product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include dolls, action figures, board games, puzzles, plush toys and educational toys. The awarded toy designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/toy
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://designers.org/181868
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/181868
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!181868
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/380559
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
- Dirty Dog Toy
- Function
- Toy
- Category
- Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Kids
- Colors
- Dark Olive Green, Olive Drab, Dark Slate Gray and Dark Khaki
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Little Hideout
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #181868
Credits
- Team
- Hangzhou Yangyang Lejia Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd. and Yawen Qiang, Yiru Zhao
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Dirty Dog is a plush toy collection that centers on companionship and emotional comfort. It includes four plush dogs with distinct personalities, brought together through a consistent design language and color scheme to create a unified family identity. The collection is available in small sizes as portable collectibles, large sizes as plush toys for hugging, and jumbo sizes as body pillows for resting and cuddling, meeting various needs and bringing warmth to daily life.
- Inspiration
- The collection draws inspiration from the everyday joy of dogs rolling in muddy puddles and running through grass. The team challenges the modern pursuit of absolute cleanliness, redefining smudges, such as mud, dirt, and paint, as badges of adventure, curiosity, and freedom. The color palette draws from natural tones of soil, grass, and flowers, creating a lively natural aesthetic that inspires a heartfelt connection to real, simple pleasures.
- Research
- The visual language of plush toys is based on the observations of pet behaviors. Unlike many products on the market that prioritize symmetry and cleanliness over storytelling, the team captures and turns the happy moments of dogs rolling in muddy puddles and playing in grass into unique character traits. To meet the need for warmth and emotional connection in fastpaced life, the shape, texture, and color of the collection are warm and friendly, strengthening the bond between toys and users.
- Challenge
- A key challenge was turning smudges that are usually seen as flaws into a meaningful and appealing design language. Each smudge, whether mud, dirt, or paint, is purposefully linked to the dogs’ playful actions. In this way, the smudges become badges symbolizing adventure and exploration rather than messiness, elevating imperfection into a unique aesthetic that embodies a sense of vitality and reminding people to cherish every mess, laugh, and adventure.
- Realization and Technology
- Each plush dog is made from blended plush in varying pile lengths to create rich tactile and visual layers. Smudges on the surface are not printed, but handmade using pigment powder and an airbrush, producing soft gradients that resemble natural smudges. This technique preserves the lifelike appearance of the toys while highlighting their handcrafted quality.
- Operation and Interaction
- The collection offers companionship and fosters emotional connection. Small plush toys are portable, providing comfort and companionship on the go, while large ones are made for home use, supporting hugging, leaning, or resting. The ergonomic jumbo plush toys accommodate multiple holding positions, from side hugs to full wraps. With different sizes, Dirty Dog supports both outdoor adventures and indoor relaxation, blending seamlessly into everyday life.
- Project Duration and Location
- Launched in Los Angeles in July 2025, the project was completed in Tianjin in August 2025, and exhibited at the LightBox Expo in Los Angeles in October 2025 and at FluffyCon in Shanghai in December 2025.
- Specifications
- product dimensions, 1600 mm x 1000 mm x 1000 mm, 300 mm x 150 mm x 100 mm
- Keywords
- Plush Toy, Companionship, Body Pillow, Character Collection, Exploration of Nature, Smudge Aesthetics, Versatile Use
