Cat Ear 多功能椅子 by Mingzhi Cai and Hongqi Cai

Cat Ear 多功能椅子 by Mingzhi Cai and Hongqi Cai is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 傢俱設計 Competition Category.

銀傢俱· 2025

Cat Ear 多功能椅子

by Mingzhi Cai and Hongqi Cai

Client: Demi Industrial Design Co.，Ltd

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 傢俱 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #166612

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Cat Ear 多功能椅子

貓耳椅設計透過不同的安裝方式，可用作餐椅、辦公椅、矮凳及寵物床。其靈感源自貓頭的輪廓，創造曲線造型並設計伸展結構以解決承重變形問題。採用模具熱成型技術及霧面處理，解決了耐磨性問題，突破傳統一次性產品的局限，實現一個模具的多功能創新應用。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

Cat Ear 多功能椅子是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計Cat Ear 多功能椅子將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。Cat Ear 多功能椅子是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This chair meets various usage needs through different structural components. Through the video, it can be seen that it can be used as an office chair or dining chair. The designer has designed a set of injection molds to achieve at least 4 different functional uses, such as dining chairs, office chairs, rest chairs, and pet beds.
Dimensions & Packaging: The diameter of the chair is 55CM, the depth from the armrest to the bottom of the seat is 19CM excluding cat ears, and the total height after installing the legs is 64CM. Can be stacked and packaged, greatly saving transportation and storage volume.
Tags: Dining chairs, office chairs, leisure chairs, bar chairs, pet beds, ski cushions, low chairs, swing chairs
Production Technology: The product is formed by hot injection molding of polypropylene plastic, melted at a certain temperature, and integrated into a single piece through an injection molding machine. The production time for each piece is about 3 minutes. The designed mold optimizes the shape analysis, and the finished product can be packaged without repair. The material can be recycled and reused. This production technology is currently mature in the market, with high production efficiency and the ability to quickly meet production demand.
Design Challenge: Breaking the traditional design, this multipurpose chair is shaped like a Cat's ears . Endowing cat ears with curves while considering modern craftsmanship, with diverse functions and simple operation. Considering the different needs of young people in pursuit of fashion, family users who pay attention to practicality, and business scenes that need a stable texture, we will study and fine tune the curvature of Cat's ears (Steamed cat-ear shaped bread) and other details in the design to collect feedback. After the design was completed, an appearance design patent was applied for to optimize the injection molding process and solve molding defects in production. By using solid wood legs to ensure stable installation and overcoming structural strength issues through 3D modeling, this cat ear chair has been successfully created.
Research: Focus on optimizing comfortable sitting posture, combining animal shapes to improve design practicality and aesthetics. By observing interviews, screening and investigating initial drafts, conducting interviews to determine buyer needs, observing chair usage, and recording interviews. Obtain user browsing time and color preference data, identify installation convenience issues. Improve the design direction, simplify the process, optimize installation, and make the chair more competitive.
Inspiration: The design inspiration comes from the circular outline of a cat's head. Get inspiration for exterior design by observing cats. Design a hollow contour on the ear and increase the edge width for easy lifting. The armrest is designed with rolled edges to provide a comfortable grip for both hands.
Project Duration: In May 2024, we began conceptualizing the appearance of the product, tested 3D printing in Langfang, Hebei in July, achieved final optimization in September, and arranged mold production in late September. It will be exhibited at a grand exhibition in April 2025.
Operation Flow: In the early stages, 3D modeling was conducted and a multi-purpose application with optimized usage functionality was optimized through multiple scaling adjustments. After the final draft, 3D printing was conducted to test the convenience of seat installation, and the edges of the details were smoothed to feel smooth and without edges, making it more comfortable to sit and use.
Patents: Chinese Patent No.: 202430790474.5 Belonging to: Demi Industrial Design Co., Ltd.Applied on November 5th, 2024，Trademark: DeMiDeLan, Trademark holder: CaiMingRui
Team Members: Design Director: Cai Mingzhi
Art director: Li Fengshi
Mentor: Cai HongQi
Image Credits: Image #1:Design Director: Cai Mingzhi/Mentor: Cai HongQi，Image #2:Design Director: Cai Mingzhi/Art director: Li Fengshi，
Image #3:Design Director: Cai Mingzhi/Art director: Li Fengshi，
Image #4:Design Director: Cai Mingzhi/Art director: Li Fengshi，
Image #5:Design Director: Cai Mingzhi/Mentor: Cai HongQi