What Yang Design does

Yang Design (legal name: 杨明洁设计顾问（上海）有限公司) is a privately held industrial design consultancy founded by Yang Mingjie (杨明洁) and headquartered at Zhongcheng Zhigu C8, 258 Changjiang Road, Baoshan District, Shanghai. The firm provides B2B industrial and interior design consulting services, with a core specialization in CMF (Color, Material, Finish) design, brand strategy, trend research, and strategic design consulting. Its client base is concentrated among global Fortune 500 enterprises and leading Chinese brands across aerospace (Boeing), luxury goods (Hermès, Hennessy, Royal Selangor), automotive (Audi, Peugeot, AIWAYS), consumer electronics and appliances (Huawei, Haier, Philips, Schneider Electric), F&B (KFC China, Unilever, Pizza Hut), and luxury packaging (Absolut Vodka). Long-term multi-year engagements with Boeing (since 2011), Haier (since 2010), and Schneider Electric (since 2012) indicate deep strategic integration.

The firm operates a proprietary CMF Trend Laboratory exceeding 600 square meters with over 30,000 material samples and publishes the China Design Trends Report annually since 2013; predictions on metallic gradient colors and copper green have been validated by major brand product success, including the Huawei P20 (reportedly 6 million units sold within 2.5 months). Yang Design also runs the YANG HOUSE lifestyle sub-brand (founded 2015) covering own-product lines such as carbon fiber smart luggage and origami sofas, and operates China's first private industrial design museum, the Yang Mingjie Design Museum (founded 2013, relocated 2023). Its "物的舍之美" (The Beauty of Reduction) design philosophy has earned institutional recognition including permanent collections at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Red Dot Design Museum, and top international awards (German iF Gold 2025, German National Design Award Gold 2024, London Design Award Gold 2023).

YANG DESIGN monetizes through project-based enterprise consulting fees, own-brand product sales via YANG HOUSE, and reputational/earned media value from international design awards and exhibitions (Milan, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York). GTM motion is enterprise field sales with event-driven demand generation via global design weeks; distribution is direct to corporate clients with no consumer e-commerce. The company has no disclosed funding, no parent, no subsidiaries, and is described as founder-led and independent, with Yang Mingjie as the primary creative authority.

Name

Yang Design

Legal name

杨明洁设计顾问（上海）有限公司

Website

https://yang-design.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shanghai-based industrial design consultancy founded in 2005 by Yang Mingjie, serving Fortune 500 clients across aerospace, luxury, automotive, and consumer electronics with CMF design, trend research, and its proprietary YANG HOUSE lifestyle brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting Services: B2B industrial design consulting services for enterprise clients including product design, CMF design, brand strategy, and trend research. Services are typically project-based with long-term strategic partnerships with major brands.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Yang Design is a B2B industrial design consultancy that provides product design, CMF (Color, Material, Finish) strategy, brand identity, trend research, and exhibition design services to enterprise clients. The firm also operates the YANG HOUSE lifestyle brand and the Yang Mingjie Design Museum, publishing the annual China Design Trends Report and offering proprietary CMF trend laboratory research with 30,000+ material samples.

Product overview

YANG DESIGN is a leading industrial design consultancy founded by designer Yang Mingjie. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio including: its own lifestyle brand "羊舍 (YANG HOUSE)" featuring furniture, smart luggage, and home products; the Supernote smart digital notebook; and various client projects in transportation, home appliances, medical devices, and packaging. Services include CMF trend research and the annual "China Design Trends Report." The company also operates the Yang Mingjie Design Museum. Projects span product design, exhibitions/installations, strategy/trends/CMF, and public welfare design. Notable collaborations include Boeing, Audi, Philips, Huawei, Haier, KFC, Hermès, and international luxury brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• YANG HOUSE (羊舍) Lifestyle Brand Lifestyle brand founded by designer Yang Mingjie in 2015, exploring and constructing an extraordinary high-quality life aesthetic value. Features design philosophy "物的舍之美" (The Beauty of Less) and includes furniture, smart luggage, and home products.
• Supernote Smart Digital Notebook (超级笔记) Digital smart notebook combining traditional paper-pen writing experience with digital technology convenience. Won German National Design Award Gold Award, German Red Dot Award, and Taiwan Golden Pin Design Award.
• YANG HOUSE Carbon Fiber Smart Luggage (羊舍碳纤维智能旅行箱) World's first carbon fiber smart luggage combining carbon fiber with dual U-shaped aluminum-magnesium alloy frame structure, featuring fingerprint lock technology. Won Japan G-Mark Award and German iF Award.
• YANG HOUSE Origami Sofa "Cloud" (羊舍折纸沙发"云") Origami sofa made with air-fiber material featuring 3D cutting and weaving technology. Permanently collected by Centre Pompidou Art Center in France.
• VOLTBERRY Charging Pile (VOLTBERRY充电桩) Home electric vehicle charging pile with modular design, replaceable EU/US plugs, and customizable decorative covers. Won 2024 German iF Design Award.
• Casarte Starry Sky Series Appliances (卡萨帝星空系列家电) Home appliance series featuring intelligent optical fiber skin technology that visualizes appliance operation status through programmable sensors and woven optical fibers.
• Green House - Future Home (绿舍——未来之家) 1:1 future home exhibition designed for HOUSE VISION curated by Kenya Hara, exploring relationships between energy, plants, and people in future living.
• One Foundation Clean Water Bottle (壹基金"净水计划"净水瓶) Clean water bottle designed for rural children in impoverished areas, featuring dual cap design for different age groups. Over 2 million bottles distributed.
• T-BOX Modular Home System (意大利多功能家居系统T-BOX) Modular, standardized multi-functional home furniture system that can be freely disassembled. Won German Red Dot Award and US IDEA Award.
• China Design Trends Report (中国设计趋势报告) Annual design trends report published since 2013, providing authoritative trend forecasts for China's market. Covers CMF trends, consumer insights, and design directions.
• Boeing Aircraft Cabin Strategy & Design (波音飞机内舱策略研究与设计) Strategic research and design services for Boeing aircraft cabin, including Chinese consumer insights, user experience, trend research, and brand identity.
• Huawei CMF Design Standards (华为全线产品CMF设计规范) CMF (Color, Material, Finish) design standards and PI (Product Identity) design for Huawei terminal products across three major scenarios, establishing CMF management standards.
• Yang Mingjie Design Museum (杨明洁设计博物馆) China's first private industrial design museum founded in 2013, featuring collections spanning craftsmanship era, industrial era, and digital civilization. Won 2025 German iF Design Gold Award.
• CATLINK AI Smart Cat Litter Box (CATLINK AI语音智能猫砂盆) AI-powered smart cat litter box with voice control and APP remote operation. Space capsule design. #1 in category sales, exported to 41 countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2 million water purification bottles delivered to impoverished children through One Foundation partnership
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Boeing (美国波音)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011YANG DESIGN is the only Chinese design consultancy selected by Boeing for aircraft interior design. Since 2011, the firm has completed multiple projects including Chinese consumer insights, user experience, trend research, and brand identity for Boeing aircraft interiors. The partnership has produced innovative cabin design solutions highly praised by Boeing headquarters.
• Covestro (德国科思创)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on CMF (Color, Material, Finish) trend exhibitions and material innovation. YANG DESIGN designed a rainbow CMF inspiration wall using Covestro's materials for Chinaplas trade show, exploring creative applications of Covestro's product portfolio in digital era product design.
• HOUSE VISION / Kenya Hara (原研哉)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvited by renowned Japanese designer Kenya Hara to design 'Green House' (绿舍) - a 1:1 future home exhibit at Beijing Bird's Nest during CHINA HOUSE VISION exhibition. The project explores relationships between energy, plants, and people in future living.
• One Foundation (壹基金)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership designing public welfare products. Projects include disaster relief tents (won US IDEA Award), water purification bottles delivered to over 2 million children in impoverished regions, and water cups for rural children.
• Ningbo South Business District (宁波南部商务区)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban furniture and information guidance system design that established unified city brand image for Ningbo. New modular and renewable energy design made Ningbo's public facilities lead nationally, winning China's first German Red Dot Design Award in public facilities.
• Peugeot (标致)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner508 E-bike smart electric bicycle design project, capturing lion body lines to express power and dynamism in the bicycle design.
• Xiaomi Ecosystem (小米生态链)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple product design collaborations including smart doorbell, smart door locks, and other IoT devices. Products have won multiple design awards and helped companies secure financing.
• Schneider Electric (法国施耐德)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term strategic partnership since 2012. Projects include monitoring equipment (won Schneider's first Red Dot Award), electrical equipment strategy and design, and building air conditioning controllers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Designworks (BMW Group): Designworks is a BMW-owned industrial and brand design consultancy serving automotive, mobility, and consumer clients globally. It is comparable to Yang Design in serving premium enterprise clients across transportation and consumer categories, though it operates with the advantage of an OEM parent and a larger multi-region footprint.
• Pentagram: Pentagram is a partner-led design consultancy covering brand identity, product, packaging, and environmental/exhibition design for global enterprises and cultural institutions. Comparable to Yang Design across brand strategy, packaging (Unilever, Hennessy, Hermès), and exhibition work, though Pentagram is partner-led rather than founder-led.
• Fuseproject: Fuseproject is a design and branding studio led by Yves Béhar that combines industrial design, brand strategy, and CMF work for consumer brands. Its project-based engagements for Fortune 500 and growth-stage companies, plus its own in-house product ventures (e.g., OUYA, August Smart Lock), closely mirror Yang Design's mix of consulting plus the YANG HOUSE brand.
• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation consultancy offering product, brand, and CMF-style strategic design for Fortune 500 enterprises across consumer electronics, automotive, and healthcare. It is the closest analog to Yang Design in business model, client profile, and service mix, differing mainly by scale and Silicon Valley geographic base.
• Smart Design: Smart Design is a product and experience design consultancy working with global brands on physical product design, CMF strategy, and design research. Its project-based enterprise model, integrated design research practice, and portfolio of consumer-electronics and home-appliance clients make it a directly comparable peer to Yang Design's CMF-led offering.
• LUNAR Design: LUNAR is an independent product design consultancy with a strong CMF and human-factors practice serving enterprise clients in consumer electronics, medical, and mobility. Its service scope, research-driven methodology, and Fortune 500 client roster make it a close comparable to Yang Design in both offering and client caliber.
• Frog Design (Capgemini): Frog is a global product and brand design consultancy serving automotive, consumer electronics, and luxury clients with strategy, CMF, and product design services. Like Yang Design, it operates at the intersection of trend research and industrial design for large enterprises, now backed by Capgemini Engineering.

Emerging players

• LKK Design (洛可可): LKK Design is one of China's largest independent industrial design consultancies, providing product design, CMF, and brand strategy to consumer electronics, automotive, and home appliance clients. It competes with Yang Design for similar Chinese enterprise mandates and is the most direct domestic peer, though with a much larger headcount and broader service portfolio.
• Native Design: Native Design is a London-based product and brand design consultancy working across consumer electronics, transportation, and lifestyle for global brands. Its award-winning industrial design practice and trend-led positioning place it as a comparable boutique international peer to Yang Design in size and scope.
• Carlo Ratti Associati: Carlo Ratti Associati is a design and innovation practice spanning product design, architecture, and large-scale exhibitions, with permanent works in international museums. Its blend of exhibition, product, and trend-driven practice — plus its permanent collections at institutions like MoMA — parallels Yang Design's museum-grade, exhibition-heavy positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xweibo.com/u/1692630125

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yang Design