Discovering the multitude of new products that launch every year is one of the best parts of being an Azure editor. We are always in awe of the inspiring creativity and ingenuity that define the design industry, and 2024 was certainly no slouch when it came to fabulous finds. From Faye Toogood’s Squash armchair for Poltrona Frau and Yinka Ilori’s unabashedly colourful textiles and wallcoverings for Momentum to Jean-Marie Massaud’s radically comfortable Ernest sofa for Poliform, our 2024 top 10 product designs made lasting impacts. 

Our top 10 favourite products from 2024 include:

• Bamboo Mood by Jiang Qiong Er for Roche Bobois
• Relief storage by TAF Studio for String Furniture
• SuperWire by Formafantasma for Flos
• Ernest sofa by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poliform
• Toob lounge chair by EOOS for Keilhauer
• Nico table by Hannes Peer for Minotti
• Yinka Ilori x Momentum Collection
• Anagram sofa by Panter&Tourron for Vitra
• Squash armchair by Faye Toogood for Poltrona Frau
• Sustainettle rug collection by Sebastian Herkner for M2R

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Bamboo Mood by Jiang Qiong Er for Roche Bobois

With its various riffs on the bamboo plant, Jiang Qiong Er’s Roche Bobois collection is an homage to nature and culture. The French-Chinese artist sought to portray bamboo poetically rather than literally, so she focused on curved shapes and simple patterns. The backrest of the Bamboo Mood sofa feels like a shoot laid lengthwise, while the rug – made of a blend of wool and bamboo – features delicate, flowering reeds. Complete with a console and screen that miniaturize a bamboo forest and a cocktail table that resembles a stem cut around the node, the collection is as playful as it is elegant.

That’s because the namesake influence was put through the artist’s special lens, and Qiong Er refers to music and painting as metaphors for how she sculpted each piece. As she told Azure, “You can see four different bamboo melodies: The first bamboo melody you discover is through the screen and the table – a quite intense rhythm. The second, in the tea table, is coming out from the earth, rooted like the bamboo root, and like a heavy bass. The third melody is the sofa; it evokes the bent bamboo, and the echo of a soft gong that will last a very long time. The final melody is the rug, which comes from one of my paintings. The four melodies together, I’d say is a poetry of bamboo.”

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Relief storage by TAF Studio for String Furniture

Stockholm-based TAF Studio is not afraid of colour. Named after an anonymous set of syllables to display the team’s commitment to collaboration (also ‘work’ in French slang), TAF artfully pairs bold colour with stylish functionality in Relief, its new storage system for String Furniture. The dynamic shelving units boast five colours (beige, grey, white, white stained ash, and of course, a stunning orange) and three sizes (low, wide and tall). With a sleek modular design, these units can easily connect into one single volume with pleasing effect or break apart to adapt to specific spatial constraints. And with a back and front that are equally well-designed, the statement storage units are easily angled in any direction.

Made in Swedish factories with 100 per cent renewable energy, Relief’s deep shelves are coated in lacquered MDF, and its handles and legs are made of recyclable powder coated aluminium. With a full collection that also includes a selection of hook rails (available in all colours), Relief was designed to elevate and celebrate everyday life. Why not invest in a chest of drawers that expertly stores away your clothes, while infusing playful design into your daily routine? For TAF Studio co-founder Mattias Ståhlbom, everyone should enjoy Relief –– even the clothes. “If I were a pullover, I’d choose to live here,” he vows. 

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SuperWire by Formafantasma for Flos

In the 2010s, LEDs promised to revolutionize the lighting industry with energy efficiency, durability and better light quality. There was just one problem: Though LED arrays last an impressive 50,000 hours, they were often fixed in place, unable to be replaced. In other words, at the end of the bulb’s life, the whole lamp becomes obsolete. Seeking to design a light that could outlast the LED, without compromising its unparalleled performance, Formafantasma conceived the ingenious SuperWire system for Flos. 

Comprised of a floor lamp, wall sconces, a table lamp and various suspension configurations, the collection is built from hexagonal modules of flat glass panels, an aluminum framework and 12 LED strips shielded by a thin borosilicate tube the size of spaghetti. By re-engineering the standard filament used in LED bulbs, the designers were able to achieve a homogenous and warm light. Users can easily swap out components by mounting and unmounting the glass panels, allowing the lamps to be enjoyed for years to come. With its contemporary yet timeless designs and innovative technology, SuperWire is sure to become a hit on the thrift market decades down the line.

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Ernest sofa by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poliform

When devising his most-recent contribution for Poliform’s portfolio of sophisticated and multifaceted furnishings, French architect Jean-Marie Massaud took a “radical approach to comfort.” The result is the Ernest sofa, a concise system of deconstructed volumes that celebrates the strength of modularity. 

The luxurious softness of the upholstered elements – which consist of straight and angled modules (with or without armrests) and pouffes – was inspired by the natural down stuffing of the cushions, while their segmented profiles lend Ernest an expression that is at once curious, playful and, most importantly, inviting. Capable of forming linear and L-shaped configurations in a range of lengths, the Ernest sofa system is offered in a range of rich and tactile fabrics and leathers for the removable upholstery covers and makes a harmonious and relaxing complement to any contemporary lifestyle. 

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Toob lounge chair by EOOS for Keilhauer

Keilhauer made quite a splash at NeoCon 2024, launching four standout lounge chairs — all of which are certified carbon neutral. The elegant Dais — which also took a star turn on the stage at Azure’s Human/Nature conference — is designed by Sweden’s Form Us With Love, while the trio of Abl, Swish and Toob all come courtesy of Austrian studio EOOS. And while all four draw our eye, the quiet boldness of Toob stands out.

The chair’s thin, airy frame is paired with a contrastingly plush upholstery, and the careful balance of angles and proportions produces a distinctively elegant silhouette. Introducing a curved element, the quietly dramatic cylindrical armrests are a focal point that complements the clean geometry of the design. “The lines of Toob really carry its volume,” says EOOS. “They are not touching; there is always a little bit of a gap. It’s like you are holding large volume on a very thin sketched line.” The result is at once buttoned up and alluring.

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Nico table by Hannes Peer for Minotti

“It’s really through architecture that I came to design,” says Hannes Peer, citing the likes of Le Corbusier and Mies van Der Rohe — as well as Eileen Gray — as early influences. True to form, the Italian designer (who started his career working for Rem Koolhaas and Zvi Hecker) brings a distinctly architectural sensibility to Minotti’s Nico tables, which are supported by an intricate structural geometry of two interlocking parts, lending the angular base a striking yet rational aesthetic signature.

Available in a variety of marble and wood finishes, the handsome base supports round, oval, rectangular or hexagonal tops. And while the wood options are elegantly understated, the rich marble veining elevates the tables with what Peer describes as an “haute couture” quality characteristic of Minotti. In Peer’s hands, a hint of 1970s exuberance and glamour is artfully paired with a streamlined contemporary refinement.

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Yinka Ilori x Momentum Collection

The runaway favourite from NeoCon 2024, Yinka Ilori’s uncompromisingly colourful textiles and wallcoverings for Momentum made a serious splash at the annual contract fair. “The collection started from a memory — experiencing my first dream catcher while staying at a friend’s house — and I watered that idea until it grew and blossomed into something like a sunflower or rose. It’s really symbolic, as I’m a huge believer in dreaming and affirmation and joy,” Ilori told us in our original coverage. Indeed, the playful yet modern designs (five textiles and three wallcoverings) bring a refreshingly whimsical energy to the contract world, which has historically favoured a more subdued design language. “My collaboration with Momentum is a testament to the power of happiness created by strong community and storytelling,” says the designer. “Together, we aim to transform commercial spaces into playful, creative hubs that inspire, uplift, and even heal.”

The collection draws inspiration from Ilori’s dual British Nigerian heritage and embraces the positive spirit for which he has been dubbed the “Architect of Joy.” Highlights include Rhythms Surround You, an exuberant stripe that stacks arches, circles, chevrons and triangles; Shower Me With Flowers, a contemporary take on a floral pattern; and Eyes in Reflection, a deceptively complex compilation of minimal rounded motifs. The bold geometric patterns, each rendered in sweet candy-like hues, can hold their own yet miraculously do not compete when paired, instead bringing out the beauty in each other. 

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Anagram sofa by Panter&Tourron for Vitra

Since founding their Lausanne-based studio Panter&Tourron in 2016, Stefano Panterotto and Alexis Tourron have been challenging the status quo through future-forward material-driven explorations and technical innovations. So, when Vitra approached the two with a very specific brief – envision a sofa that can adapt to the ever-changing needs of future living and working – the designers’ response was one that reimagines the conventional sofa as an intuitive system that can quickly adapt to the “needs of the moment as well as major life changes.” 

Called Anagram, the ultra-modular lounge system (that launched at 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen) includes a curated collection of 11 components and employs a clever click-and-play mechanism that allows for the upholstered back and side panels and side tables to be attached, removed and resituated anywhere along the base platform to form front-facing setups, sections, corner units, double-ended loungers and more. No arrangement is permanent, each one can be swapped around and flipped with ease to suit new spaces and situations at home and the office. Further, Anagram is a champion of sustainability through its materiality – recycled aluminum, recycled PET, recyclable biofibre, with nothing being glued, laminated or foamed. This was an important attribute to the designers, who acknowledge that sofas are often the most “important character in the home and usually one of the largest. It’s very important that circularity is a key aspect of the design – only then can it stand the test of time.” 

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Squash armchair by Faye Toogood for Poltrona Frau

When the year started, British designer Faye Toogood was best known in the furniture industry for her Roly Poly chair — a sculptural seat with a hard plastic shell. Yet by April, she had a new statement throne to her name. One of the most exciting trends that swept this year’s edition of Milan Design Week was the rise of plush, pillowy forms, and Toogood led the movement with Squash, an instant classic of an armchair that she unveiled with Poltrona Frau. (A pair of mirrors, a side table, and a range of rugs round out the full Squash series.) Mind you, even if the chair design feels decidedly on-trend in 2024, it also exudes a strong sense of timelessness. 

It helps that Squash mines Poltrona Frau’s archives so thoughtfully: Toogood started with the company’s signature Vanity Fair chair by Renzo Frau as a reference point, yet landed on a playful, contemporary silhouette that is rigid in some places, and super soft in others. Indeed, by combining a lacquered wooden frame with plump leather cushions, she effectively creates the sensation of a pillow “squashed” into a curvy outer box. The end result is structured yet free-spirited. Distinctive, packed with personality and — most importantly — ultra-comfortable, it’s the type of design that seems destined to elicit oohs and ahhs every time it turns up in a space. Sure enough, we were just as excited to encounter it at the opening of Poltrona Frau’s new NYC showroom on Madison Avenue in May as we had been to meet it for the first time in Milan a month earlier. In 2024, Squash was the best seat in the house.

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Sustainettle rug collection by Sebastian Herkner for M2R

Sebastian Herkner’s hand drawn motifs give Sustainettle, his third collection with Hamburg-based rug brand M2R, a subtle and timeless expression. The aesthetic restraint is in service of making the material shine: crafted from pure Himalayan nettle, Sustainettle is the first entirely plant-based collection by the brand. As the company explains, Himalayan nettle grows wild in the primeval forests at the foothills of mountainous Nepal. Its cultivation is resource-light – it doesn’t require farmland or water – and its harvesting takes place each October by hand. To dye the fibres (after beating and boiling them), they are first bleached with white clay, then spun like wool. Finally, they are knotted, their different pile heights enhancing their tonal dimensions.

The collection includes Durbar Square, Crop Land, Bagmati River, Foreshore Fields, Jiri Road and Serpentine – all understated patterns rendered in calm shades of pewter, green and terracotta. And yet, Sustainettle is stunning in its craft and materiality, both of which will allow this collection to stand the test of time. “As a designer, you not only define the form and function of a product, but also bear a great responsibility in terms of material and production,” Herkner says. He and M2R show what happens when that responsibility is seen as a creative opportunity.