Comfort Lab exhibition by Pearson Loyd and Cozmo – All photos are courtesy of Pearson Lloyd and Cozmo.

Design. True to its name, the Hug sofa by Pearson Lloyd for furniture maker Cozmo was designed to feel like a warm embrace, with every decision shaped by touch, posture, and the sensory experience of materials. During London Design Week, the British design studio presents Comfort Lab—an exhibition that lets visitors step inside the making of the seat. Every decision was shaped by touch, posture, and the sensory experience of materials.

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“Hug was designed through feel,” Tom Lloyd and Luke Pearson told Archipanic. “It came out of our process of ‘thinking through making’, where we explored not just the practical but also the emotional side of comfort.” Indeed, rather than starting with sketches or CAD drawings, they built full-size models straight away—wrapping, folding, and adjusting materials to discover how the sofa should hold the body.

That hands-on approach impressed Cozmo co-founder Jacob Peres from the start. “It was so refreshing to walk into our first meeting and not be shown polished renders,” he remembers. “Instead, Tom and Luke took us into the workshop, where a quirky wooden structure with moving parts instantly opened up a real conversation about comfort, support, and ergonomics.”

The finished Hug combines thoughtful design with everyday practicality. Inspired by Bauhaus steel framing, its foldable structure is precision-welded yet lightweight, so it can be flat-packed and assembled at home without tools. Cushions filled with foam and feathers are wrapped in removable covers that can be refreshed or replaced, making the sofa easy to care for over the years.

The key to its signature “hug” is the high back—taller than most contemporary sofas—cradling the back, neck, and head. Add in exaggerated lumbar support, and comfort becomes something you can both see and feel. More than just seating, Hug is a sofa designed to be lived with, loved, and shared.

Comfort Lab by Pearson Loyd and Cozmo – Courtesy of Cozmo.

What Comfort Lab reminds us is that real design exhibitions are more than just a showcase of finished objects. They open a window onto the creative journey—the experiments, the trial-and-error that shape a final piece. By stepping into the process, we get to see design not only as an outcome, but as an evolving dialogue between makers, materials, and ideas.

All photos are courtesy of Pearson Lloyd and Cozmo.