DESIGN BRIEF, FRAMEWORK & CREATIVE DIRECTION

With this year’s BOLIA DESIGN AWARDS, we invite you to work with tactility and honest, natural materials. When designing, think of products that last for generations and become more and more beautiful with time. Let your solution celebrate longevity, creativity, and quality as the heart of New Scandinavian design - where craftsmanship and tactility unite.

Let the following 4 points be the object of your creative process:

• Sofa
  Design a sofa that aesthetically harmonises with the BOLIA design universe and redefines the contemporary BOLIA sofa - offering a fresh interpretation. It must feature changeable covers, use fabric and leather as the primary surface material, remain open to complementary materials and explore comfort innovation.
  
  Aim for balance: soft but architectural, calming yet characterful, timeless yet contemporary, and create a sofa that enriches the collection and inspires how people relax, gather, and live with design.

 

• Armchair
  Design a versatile armchair that seamlessly complements our bestselling sofa series, such as Noora, Scandinavia, and Cosima. The design should be confident enough to stand on its own, yet understated enough to harmonise effortlessly with our sofa collections.
  
  The components of your design should primarily consist of fabrics and leathers, while also allowing room to honour materials such as oak, steel, and marble — or to explore entirely alternative material choices. Regardless of material direction, the design should investigate new approaches to comfort. Our sofas are grand; let that be reflected in your design.

 

• Home accessories family
  Develop a completely new family of home accessories that aligns with BOLIA’s design universe, while clearly and distinctly setting itself apart from our existing series through an expression of understated luxury.
  
  The family should consist of at least 3 different products that naturally complement one another. Play with shapes that can give functionality and use across different product groups. Materials should be natural, and the overall expression may reflect a crafted, tactile approach to production.
  
  
• Freedom to surprise
  Create whatever pops in your mind – surprise us!

 

HOW TO APPLY

Upload your design proposal in a PDF format – one file for each design, and you may submit 3 designs in total in separate files of max. 5 pages each.

• Present your design any which way you want – perhaps renderings supported by sketches, 3D models, or something completely different.
• Regarding formalities in the uploaded PDF: there are no specific guidelines, other than keeping it anonymous. Beyond that, it’s entirely up to you how you choose to present your work.
• Please do incorporate thoughts behind the design(s) and your choice of materials, as this is essential for the jury’s assessment.

If you have a prototype, great! Please share some pictures or video of it   – we unfortunately cannot receive them physically as part of your submission.

ANONYMITY

Please do not include your name, logo, or any other identifying information in the PDF itself. This is to ensure an anonymous evaluation process by the jury. Your identity will only be known to the administrative team, who will organize and code the submissions before they are presented to the jury.

Important: Any submission that includes the designer's name or other identifying information in the PDF may be disqualified.
BOLIA employees cannot participate in BOLIA DESIGN AWARDS.

SUBMISSION LIMIT

Please upload your design proposal as a PDF – one file for each design. You can submit up to 3 designs, each in a separate file with a maximum of 5 pages.

Please remember not to include your name in the uploaded PDFs, as we want to keep everything anonymous for the jury when they vote for their favourite.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Each year, we collaborate with passionate creatives from the lifestyle and design industries to form our professional jury. This expert panel reviews all entries and selects the winners of the Jury Prize as well as the 7 finalists for the People’s Choice Prize - ultimately decided by our community through online voting. See specific criteria for each prize below.

JURY PRIZE

Awarded by our expert jury for overall excellence in design.

ORIGINALITY & INNOVATION:
The design brings something fresh, bold, or unexpected.

SUSTAINABILITY:
From longevity and repairability to end-of-life considerations and replaceable wear parts – all must be addressed and clearly communicated.

FUNCTIONALITY & RELEVANCE:
Clear purpose, usability, and problem-solving.

CRAFTSMANSHIP & FEASIBILITY:
Realistic for production, with attention to detail.

PRESENTATION & CONCEPTUAL STRENGTH:
Well-communicated idea and story behind the design.

AESTHETIC QUALITY & VISUAL IMPACT:
Designed for durability and long-term use – with a memorable visual impression.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE PRIZE

The Jury selects 7 finalists, which are then put to a public vote on Bolia.com

EMOTIONAL APPEAL:
The design resonates strongly with the audience.

SUSTAINABILITY:
From longevity and repairability to end-of-life considerations and replaceable wear parts – all must be addressed and clearly communicated.

FUNCTIONALITY & RELEVANCE:
Clear purpose, usability, and problem-solving.

DESIRABILITY:
Users can imagine owning or using the design in their lives.

PRESENTATION & CONCEPTUAL STRENGTH:
Well-communicated idea and story behind the design.

AESTHETIC QUALITY & VISUAL IMPACT:
Designed for durability and long-term use – with a memorable visual impression.

 

RESPONSIBILITY

We place a strong emphasis on circular design – which is why there are several important criteria to consider.

RECYCLED AND RECYCLABLE MATERIALS:
The product must be made from materials that either contain recycled content or can be fully recycled at the end of its life. Describe the material used and explain the reasoning behind its selection.

DESIGN FOR DISASSEMBLY:
The product must be designed for easy disassembly into mono-materials.
Disassembly guide must be provided to support the evaluation process.

COMPONENT-BASED DESIGN:
Wear parts must be changeable, allowing for easy replacement of components needed for maintenance, repair, or recycling. A guide detailing the replaceable components should be provided.

 

DURABILITY AND LONGEVITY:
The product must be designed for durability, with a strong construction being able to pass the European Norms for strength, durability, and stability.

PACKAGING:
Describe or illustrate how the product is shipped — flat-packed or pre-assembled — with a focus on space efficiency during transport.

EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION, PRODUCTION CAPABILITY AND SCALABILITY:
The design should avoid production methods that require high materials- energy consumption to support lower CO₂ emissions and less waste. The product must be feasible for large-scale production and suitable for manufacturing in significant quantities.

COMMUNICATION:
Describe the design and explain how it meets the selection criteria for a circular product. Outline the design choices and demonstrate how they support a circular lifecycle, addressing all relevant aspects.

EXCLUSIVITY

We do not accept designs that are already in production or on the market.

Until the end of November 2026, your submitted design(s) are not to be pitched to other design brands or retailers.

ENTERING OUR COLLECTION

If your design catches the attention of our BOLIA Design Team, you will be contacted directly for a possible design collaboration after the competition has ended. All submissions are eligible for the opportunity to become part of our collection – but none are guaranteed. Therefore, making sure your design is technically possible to manufacture is required.