KI Earns Seven Best of NeoCon Awards, Including Best of Competition, for the Kiaura Collection™ Built With Cognetic Technology™

KI recognized for breakthrough innovation redefining seating performance across task, collaboration, conference, lounge, and integrated technology categories

GREEN BAY, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KI announced today that the Kiaura Collection™ built with Cognetic Technology™ has been honored with seven 2026 Best of NeoCon Awards, including Best of Competition in Integrated Technology, one of the commercial design industry’s highest distinctions recognizing groundbreaking product innovation and design excellence.

The Kiaura Collection built with Cognetic Technology received the following honors:

• Best of Competition – Integrated Technology: Cognetic Technology
• Best of NeoCon Innovation– Integrated Technology: Cognetic Technology
• Best of NeoCon Gold – Seating: Ergonomic Task: Kiaura Task Seating
• Best of NeoCon Gold – Collections for Collaboration: Kiaura Collection built with Cognetic Technology
• Best of NeoCon Gold – Seating: Sofas + Lounge: Kiaura Lounge Seating
• Best of NeoCon Gold – Seating: Conference: Kiaura Task Seating
• Best of NeoCon Gold – Lounge Furniture Collections: Kiaura Lounge Seating

The Best of NeoCon awards have recognized excellence in commercial design since 1990, with products evaluated on-site at THE MART in Chicago by a multidisciplinary jury of architects, designers, specifiers, facility managers, and other commercial interiors professionals. The awards honor products demonstrating innovation, design quality, sustainability, and meaningful impact across workplace, healthcare, education, hospitality, and retail environments.

“This level of recognition across six categories, culminating with Best of Competition, represents a defining moment not only for KI, but for the future of workplace seating design,” said Tony Besasie, chief sales and marketing officer at KI. “To receive this recognition from some of the industry’s most respected commercial designers and specifiers is incredibly gratifying. To see the Kiaura Collection built with Cognetic Technology recognized across several categories underscores both the versatility of the platform and the significance of the innovation behind it.”

Invented by Aaron DeJule, Cognetic Technology is a patented, gravity-responsive innovation that continuously works in harmony with the body’s natural micro-movements while seated. Rather than relying on static ergonomic positioning or constant manual adjustment, the technology is designed to support continuous balance, responsive motion, and dynamic engagement throughout the workday.

The Kiaura Collection extends this innovation across a cohesive family of seating solutions spanning task, collaboration, conference, and lounge environments. Together, the collection represents a broader evolution in workplace seating, shifting beyond traditional ergonomic frameworks to consider movement, cognitive engagement, comfort, and long-term well-being as central design principles.

Early research and controlled studies associated with the technology indicate positive impacts across seated comfort, cognitive engagement, and physical well-being, reinforcing its potential to support human performance in workplace environments.

“Cognetic Technology was developed from the idea that seating should adapt naturally to people instead of asking people to adapt to seating,” added Besasie. “Receiving this level of recognition from Best of NeoCon affirms the growing importance of designing environments that better support human movement, energy, and performance.”

The Kiaura Collection built with Cognetic Technology debuted at the KI Inspiration Center during Design Days in Chicago’s Fulton Market district.

Learn more about Cognetic Technology at ki.com/cognetic or about the Kiaura Collection at ki.com/kiaura.

INVENTOR & DESIGN ATTRIBUTION

Cognetic Technology™ is a patented seating innovation invented by Aaron DeJule, founder of DeJule LLC. The Kiaura Collection™, designed by Aaron DeJule, is the first seating collection built with Cognetic Technology and is exclusively manufactured by KI.

ABOUT KI

KI manufactures innovative furniture for education, healthcare, government, and corporate markets. The employee-owned company is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with sales and manufacturing facilities worldwide. KI tailors products and service solutions to the specific needs of each customer through its unique design and manufacturing philosophy. For more information, visit ki.com.

ABOUT AARON DEJULE

Aaron DeJule is an industrial designer and founder of DeJule LLC, with a career spanning more than two decades focused on advancing the experience of seating. A graduate of the Institute of Design in Chicago, he has partnered with leading manufacturers to develop award-winning furniture and lighting solutions recognized with honors including IDSA Gold and NeoCon Gold and Silver. DeJule is the inventor of Cognetic Technology and designer of the Kiaura Collection, a new approach to seating that rethinks the relationship between movement, comfort, and performance.