I must admit I feel very passionately about concepts. It definitely is a part of my job description, but to be honest, I’ve always loved the ability to imagine products that achieved well beyond what was possible in reality. Now I believe that there are broadly two types of concepts – Firstly, concepts that aren’t meant to exist, they’re just meant to serve as a way of express an obscure idea. In a lot of ways, flying broomsticks or real-life edible chocolate frogs from Harry Potter fall into this broad category. Secondly, concepts that are meant to exist, but only when technology evolves to the extent that they’re feasible. Here, we’ve got less outrageous but more innovative concepts, like hoverboards, or transparent smartphones, which are just a heartbeat away from reality.
The former category of concepts are what I like to call “Design Fiction, or “Design for Fiction”, while the latter serve more as “Design for a Future Reality” and just need a bit of a technological, financial, or developmental push to be turned into real-world products. That’s where the SHAPL Design Contest comes in. Envisioned as a contest that takes great ideas and turns them into great products, the SHAPL Design Contest crowd-sources ideas from designers and gets a jury panel to weigh in, along with an audience of potential customers/consumers to vote for their favorite ideas. Winning design-concepts are then developed into real products that hit the shelves, and can be bought by people across the world. This, apart from giving designers confidence in their ideas, allows them to also experience the incredible world of product-development and see their products really enriching lives. SHAPL also casually throws in a design patent that gets awarded to the creator of the product, and cash prizes amounting to a total of $100,000 for all winners!
The Hairstyler Pro is the perfect example of a product-idea brought to life by the SHAPL Design Contest. Conceptually, it fits perfectly into the second category of “Design for a Future Reality” and is the kind of idea I’d happily cover as a design concept on YD, but the SHAPL Design Contest helped take the idea to the next step by actually building the product. The Hairstyler Pro is a U-shaped hairdryer radically re-imagines how hairdryers look, behave, and interact with the users. The Hairstyler Pro looks nothing like a hairdryer because it’s so much more than one. Designed to be a dryer that works in your hand as well as hands-free, and with an attachment that turns it into a curler, the Hairstyler Pro is the ultimate hairdressing appliance. The U-shaped profile bends and contorts to assume different shapes that give it its variety of functions. A curler attachment (which applies the same curling principles found in Dyson’s curler) uses spiral wind patterns to quickly and effectively curl your hair, and the hands-free mode lets you use both your hands to comb/style your hair while the dryer stands vertically on your dressing table, blowing air exactly where you want it to!
The SHAPL Design Contest is currently in its 3rd edition and entries are free for all, and open till the 17th of December 2020… that gives you a month’s worth of time to come up with a great idea for a product, design it, and tweak it till it’s a stellar concept! There are no strict rules or regulations pertaining to what category of product you can submit, giving you the freedom to create anything from consumer electronics to home-decor, and from fashion and personal-care to even child-care! If you’ve got a winning idea for a product just like the Hairstyler Pro, send your concept in! It’s much better than just sitting on an idea and never really seeing how much potential it really has! SHAPL oversees the production and prototyping of your concept, collaborating with you over the choice of material, CMF, etc. Go ahead and shoot your shot! (did we mention, it’s free?) Entries are open till the 17th of December 2020. Give your renders the limelight and opportunity they deserve, and your portfolio the street-cred it deserves! Scroll down to check out some of the past winners from the 2018-19 design contest!
During one of our Q&A’s, a reader asked our founder, Takashi Yamada, what a design should be according to him. “Innovative”, he said, “It is not about making something bigger, better, stronger, faster, cheaper, etc. than your previous product or service. Innovation is about creating something that makes what you already have obsolete. And that’s why I love concepts so much – they always push the boundaries.” And that same love for concepts echoes through all of Yanko Design.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has surged through the world, changing things as we know it. But one thing that could not be dampened was the sense of enthusiasm with which the design community rose up to this new challenge. Red Dot Awards are not just an award, but a seal of quality that helps the designers distinguish their design and gain a spotlight to help their talent shine. Undeterred by COVID, the Red Dot Award ceremony was held online this year, the celebratory moments captured and shared during a two-day award celebration. Let’s jump into the list of the 2020 Red Dot Awards: Design Concept winners with the Red Dot Luminary Award, presented by the Red Dot Juror – Mr. Tanaka Kazuo!
Announcement of the prestigious Red Dot: Luminary Award 2020
The Robotic Prosthetic Knee by BionicM Inc. (Japan) is the winner of the Red Dot: Luminary 2020 award for their innovative, motor-powered design that helps above-knee amputees restore their physical functions. As Mr. Kazuo Tanaka explains “The Robotic Prosthetic Knee completely changes the concept of prostheses up to now. It is the fusion of body neural information and robot technology. As a result, the user can obtain a natural walking sensation that is completely different from that of a conventional artificial leg. What’s more, its appearance is fashionable and gives the user confidence.”
Robotic Prosthetic Knee by BionicM Inc.
The top accolade winning design serves as an inspiration to designers and takes a huge step towards building a more inclusive world. How do they do that? By merging robotic technology and the human body! The design is very personal for its CEO, Dr. Sun Xiajun since he is a prosthetic user since age 9. While he got his first prosthetic at the age of 15, Dr. Xiajun understands the importance of merging design and engineering to create a product that excels in everyday life. Especially in the prosthetics field, functionality and aesthetics hold equal weightage in making the design feel socially acceptable, helping the user be comfortable in using this design to improve their day-to-day life. The result is a compact, lightweight, and futuristic design that the user is actually proud to show-off instead of hiding it.
Yanko Design curates the team’s favorite designs that are pushing the boundaries for a better tomorrow and it ranges from urban architecture and automotive to smart home appliances and toys!
Deployable Emergency Shelter by Samuel Barratt and Henry Glogau
This design has an intrinsic connection to its environment and stands on the pillars of biomimicry and symbiosis. The concept explores how snow can be used as a natural insulator and protective layer in extremely cold environments through fractional origami skin combined with lightweight lattice structure – think Eskimos but in 2020 with design skills and their traditional knowledge of snow. “We wanted to design a shelter which looks to embrace and utilize these extreme conditions to its advantage, rather than fight against them. Snow became a building material rather than a burden,” said the designers of the Deployable Emergency Shelter.
UN/LIMITED by Chou Kuan-hua
UN/LIMITED explores the requirements of volume and material through a daily backpack because we don’t have Hermoine’s Undetectable Extension Charm to fit everything in our regular bags. It is expandable to accommodate unexpected items and can also be compressed into a more streamlined form to allow for better mobility. Guided by the design philosophy of ‘design by reduction’, it is sealed by heat welding and made of a mono-material, DuPont Hytrel, or similar recyclable thermoplastic elastomers with different levels of hardness and also making it easier to recycle – the objective is to design a product with recyclable plastic that is sustainable, improves with age and has a genuine bond with the user.
TOGOther by Pan Yu-Ting and Wu Ya-Cheng
This is an electric transporter that can be attached to all kinds of wheelchairs giving mobility a dimension of modularity that makes it more adaptable to people and places. Depending on the needs of the disabled, it offers three mobility modes: Independent Mode, Assisted Mode, and Personal Transporter mode. The modern aesthetics and universal design details help move away from the stigma of disability. This challenges our long-standing stereotypes and perceptions of assistive devices. Rooted in the idea of an inclusive mobile society for everyone, TOGOther aims to lighten the load of both the disabled and their caregiver, thereby supporting an aging society.
Ultra-Thin Air Conditioner by Ningbo AUX Electric Co., Ltd.
Tired of the bulky split Air Conditioners or the rattle-y window ACs? This is your solution – a slim, telescopic air-conditioner with an accordion-like panel as a cool air outlet. Ultra-Thin Air Conditioner’s panel expands and contracts to change the angle of the airflow that is exiting. The more the panels expand, the bigger the area of airflow. This accordion design replaces the traditional swing-flap blades of air-conditioners that usually guide the airflow. In a standby state, the space of the air duct is compressed, the panel collapses and closes, hiding the air vents to leave behind an ‘ultra-thin’ form. Sleep, simple, and super ‘cool’.
POSEIDON by PSD Pte. Ltd.
This automotive design is a first of its kind product that enables divers to reach deeper depths with great speeds by equipping them with the environmental parameters from an integrated LCD screen. The unique built-in GPS positioning system helps users return to their set locations when the propeller goes into in low-battery mode. For user-friendly ‘smart return’ function the slots are filled with a hollow glass micro-bead type of buoyant material – this ensures that the body is not affected by the high pressure of the deep waters and that it would actually float to the surface and start the GPS positioning function after being let go. In order to create highly efficient products with perfect safety, A123 lithium-ion batteries are used because they offer no risk of explosion, therefore reducing stress for divers. Truly, the Poseidon of the automotive world with its amphibian-like design.
AMBI- by Baek Ju Yeon
A regular mouse is still a major cause for ‘carpal tunnel syndrome’ because a mouse’s angle is generally not ergonomic for the hand, especially if you are left-handed because the mouse market often forgets about you. Sandwiched between the shell of the vertical AMBI- mouse is a collapsible accordion-like structure made with flexible plastic that allows users to adjust the tilt angle of the mouse. When the structure changes, a setup window will intuitively appear on the screen. This can be modified to fit both hands. The upper and lower shell can also be used alone (by detaching the accordion structure) just like a regular mouse. Left-handers finally rejoice!
WM Fresher by Nanjing Chuangwei Household Electronic Appliances Limited
By combining the functions of a front-loading washing machine, a small top-loading washing machine, and a shoe-care machine, WM Fresher offers users a ‘head-to-toe’ clean. Its unique three-layer washing space can wash and care for different clothing materials and dirtiness at the same time, saving time and energy. It is user-friendly, even for the elderly, and it is possible to customize and personalize the washing parameters for the optimum cleaning result. It uses an innovative steam washing function to sterilize and disinfect clothes. The shoe sterilization area is right at the bottom and automatically detects, sterilizes, and deodorizes footwear according to the material and size. Making laundry easier for everyone!
Moving Z by ZINUS Design Department
Moving frequently and constantly having to buy/discard furniture is a huge hassle, especially for Gen Z who are just venturing into the real world. Cities around the world are seeing a gradual decrease in personal living space, and the increasing movement in and out of the city. People need furniture that is suited for small spaces and frequent moves. Moving Z is a new furniture concept that is compact and easy to move. It is designed to reduce the time and effort needed when moving to a new home. For frequent movers, Moving Z can be easily packed, assembled, or used in different configurations – pushed down or upright to fit any space. The modular boxes are made from a variety of materials and can be stacked/arranged freely while the wheeled frame functions as a cart which can be used to move things conveniently.
Little Hoppa by Sofie
Many children’s toys on the market are bulky, not designed to last, and non-renewable. Little Hoppa is a 3-in-1 children’s play gym, jumper, and activity table. This durable, innovative, and multi-activity toy transforms and adapts with children as they grow (from birth to 4 years old). It is easy to clean and recycle, the simple nut-and-bolt fit makes it super simple to put each stage together; most parts are also reused in each stage. It can be used by newborns for tummy time, for babies with interactive hanging toys, and for slightly older babies who start to pull themselves up, it can be used as a jumper toy. The final stage has been created for the toddler and pre-school years – the tabletop is dual-sided so younger children can use the built-in road, storytelling forms, and interactive toys for imaginative play, while older children will enjoy drawing or reading using the flat side of the table.
While most design competitions reward ideas, SHAPL is actually committed to developing them. One of the few design competitions that’s focused on the outcome rather than just the concept, the SHAPL Design Competition takes winning ideas and actually develops them into real-world products that people can buy, use, and be delighted by! The process is quite simple. Develop your design, upload it to SHAPL’s competition dashboard, and it gets judged not just by a jury, but also by consumers who would love to own the product. Consumers vote for products they like, bringing the human-centric element into the competition, allowing the market to choose the most market-ready, market-worthy product… while the jury panel also helps vet designs based on practicality, aesthetics, and overall appeal. Winners not only see their products turn into reality, but also get patents to their designs, and hefty cash prizes of up to $10,000. (With total cash prizes amounting to $100,000!)
The SHAPL Design Contest is currently in its 3rd edition and entries are free for all, and open till the 17th of December 2020… that gives you a month’s worth of time to come up with a great idea for a product, design it, and tweak it till it’s a stellar concept! The contest offers a great opportunity to really test the waters with your product and actually gauge market response, thanks to the ability for the audience to choose the winners. There are no strict rules or regulations pertaining to what category of product you can submit, giving you the freedom to create anything from consumer electronics to home-decor, and from fashion and personal-care to even child-care! SHAPL oversees the production and prototyping of your concept, collaborating with you over choice of material, CMF, etc. If you’ve been published on Yanko Design, take it from us, your designs stand an even stronger chance of being one of the many winners of the SHAPL Design Contest! Go ahead and shoot your shot! (did we mention, it’s free?) Entries are open till the 17th of December 2020. Give your renders the limelight and opportunity they deserve, and your portfolio the street-cred it deserves! Scroll down to check out some of the past winners from the 2018-19 design contest!
The Hairstyler Pro is perhaps the best example to highlight how innovation-driven and consumer-focused the SHAPL Design Contest is. This U-shaped hairdryer radically re-imagines how hairdryers look, behave, and interact with the users. The Hairstyler Pro looks nothing like a hairdryer because it’s so much more than one. Designed to be a dryer that works in your hand as well as hands-free, and with an attachment that turns it into a curler, the Hairstyler Pro is the ultimate hairdressing appliance. The U-shaped profile bends and contorts to assume different shapes that give it its variety of functions. A curler attachment (which applies the same curling principles found in Dyson’s curler) uses spiral wind patterns to quickly and effectively curl your hair, and the hands-free mode lets you use both your hands to comb/style your hair while the dryer stands vertically on your dressing table, blowing air exactly where you want it to! Pretty innovative, huh!
02. Furia Bicycle by Francesco Manocchio (Bronze Winner)
If the Furia bicycles fearsome form looks familiar, that’s because you’ve definitely seen it before… only, not in a bicycle! It’s one of the first to utilize motorcycle-inspired hub-center steering. Rather than above the wheel, the pivot points are located in the wheel hub, allowing the steering, braking, and suspension functions to be separate. This results in a smoother more controlled ride, especially over bumps and road irregularities. Shocks are immediately absorbed by the suspension with minimal transfer to the rest of the bike. This also assists with rider endurance. Combining carbon fiber composite and 3D printing, it’s unmatched in lightness, strength and performance.
03. OAVE Microwave by Youngwoong Kim & Jungbae Gong
Unlike conventional microwaves that exist as a box-shaped oven with a door and a rotating plate on the inside, OAVE takes on a much more ornamental approach to gadget’s design, giving it a cylindrical structure and a cloche-shaped lid you can take off to reveal the food inside. OAVE gives your microwave oven a much more aesthetic, table-friendly avatar. The two-part design comprises a rotating base, and a perforated metal and glass cover that sits over your food. Visible from all sides, the food rotates on its lazy-suzy base, illuminated by an overhead light. When you’re done, lift up the lid to reveal the fresh hot meal beneath!
04. Baek-Ja Fire Extinguisher by Ko Yuni
Modeled on the pottery style of the Joseon Dynasty, the Baek-Ja Fire Extinguisher looks less like a fire-safety device and more like an oriental vase you’d have no qualms about keeping in the center of your room! The faceted outer body simply acts as an external cover for the inner extinguisher vessel. The bulbous part of the vase protects it against impacts and shocks, while the concave part extends beyond the base of the inner vessel to keep it from coming in contact with the floor while in use. I’m not entirely sure if having a fire-extinguisher colored white is ‘up to code’, but this concept sure looks less utilitarian and more aesthetic than the other extinguishers out there!
05. LITO Candle Holder by Mina Kasirifar
Designed to not just class up your cake but also prevent the wax from dripping onto the food below, the LITO Candle Holder quite literally makes your birthday-cake heavenly! The angelic candlestand can be push-fitted into the cake facing either inwards or outwards, and can hold all sorts of candles… even the numbered ones!
06. Luft Flow by Luft (Gold Winner)
The Luft Flow explores a unique approach to air filtration. Divided into two parts, this purifier separates the appliance’s two core functions – purification and humidification. You can simply detach the small, portable purifier unit from its humidifier base and carry it around with you. The purifier works on an internal battery, filtering the air of whichever room it’s kept in, while the base of the Luft Flow works towards regulating temperature and humidity in the house!
07. Chess Pick by MEARI
They say chess is a great game to make your mind healthy, but what if it could make your body healthy too? These adorable chess-piece food-picks are an interesting cross-over, in part because they make your fruit-bowl look interesting, but also because they’re just intuitively designed to be gripped (as all chess pieces are). Don’t say we can’t play with our food now!
08. Model Y Router by Ninety Studio
Unlike the antiquated box/antenna form, Y’s triangular shape is at once minimalistic, sculptural and functional. Its internal parts have been reorganized in a more sensible way that keeps the antenna contained and protected. Better yet, one section of the triangle is dedicated to cable storage! You can actually tuck away any extra cord directly into the device. Until Mark Zuckerberg gets thats universal internet idea off the ground, I NEED this in my life!
09. Unit Pen by Unit Pen
Think of the Unit Pen as an ultimate instance of fidget-stationery. Designed almost like beads strung around a necklace, the Unit Pen comes with multiple playful units strung together using the pen’s refill. You can either fidget with the different pieces, spinning them around on their axis, or rearrange them to make a nice, tactile piece of stationery your hands and eyes will love!
10. Infrared Foot Dryer by Jeans/Industrial
Modeled to look like a doormat, this nifty appliance is actually a foot-dryer that uses infrared to generate enough heat to gently (and safely) evaporate the water on your feet. The dryer comes with a central control-hub that you can maneuver with your feet. Push down on it to activate the dryer and a combination of heat and wind quickly dry the water off your feet. Any excess runoff water gets drained out through the grills on the mat.
– Total Prize: $100,000
– Production Bonus: $10,000
IDEO launched its very own Chicago-based Winter Dining Challenge during the age of COVID-19. Through this challenge, the city of Chicago aims to stimulate and encourage safe dining from Lake Michigan to Chicago Lawn and everywhere in between. This challenge is 2020 pandemic-specific since alternative dining experiences have been at the forefront of everyone’s minds, as you probably already know. On October 8th, IDEO announced the top designs for Chicago, each of which brought with them a distinct interpretation of safe, yet lively dining experiences.
Cozy Cabins
Inspired by ice fishing huts, Young designed modular, transparent cabins so that dinner guests can enjoy the bustling streets of Chicago while maintaining safety protocol for social distancing. The cabins are identical in size and shape, which makes it easy to reproduce in other cities, fitting easily within average-sized parking spaces. Best yet, the cabins are also simply produced, requiring only wood, corrugated metal, polycarbonate plastic, and standard framing hardware. Additionally, these cabins are inexpensive to make and integrate a floor-heating system in order to keep diners warm while they enjoy their meals. Cozy Cabin would offer Chicagoans a warm, appetizing retreat during the city’s notoriously frigid winter months.
Each Cozy Cabin is identical in size and shape, making the process of construction and reproduction manageable. Additionally, the cabins require minimal material, all of which can be sustainably sourced and maintained. Diners will have lots of personal space in these Cozy Cabins, depending on their party’s size.
Block Party
Urban designers, Neil Reindel and Flo Mettetal designed expandable, life-size blocks for their alternative dining spaces. These blocks fit within parking lanes, in order to fully expand. However, if restaurants do not have enough space in their parking lots, then the blocks can be positioned on extended sidewalks or pocket parks. The blocks position diners amongst the busy and many pedestrians of city streets, bringing the communal experience of eating out to each block. Likely, the most exciting feature of this concept in particular is the expansion feature. If your party is bigger, then the blocks can be grouped together in order to enlarge the dining space. This dining experience is not fully enclosed, allowing for some air circulation. However, available curtains would allow diners to turn their dining experience into a private one. Each module would be constructed using Metal ‘C’ studs, in expanded polystyrene, and objects (tables, light fixtures, etc.) would be clad with sealed MDF, a material denser than plywood. By implementing a thermal mesh system, Block Party ensures a warm dining experience for each block partygoer.
Each module seats two guests comfortably and can be arranged to accommodate bigger parties if the need arises.
Each module can be moved using a caster wheel dolly and combined so that modules can increase room for diners by increments of two. The modules fasten together using pin joints, which is a good option in order to prevent the modules from rotating or drifting.
The modules can be arranged so that the restaurant’s outdoor seating space is optimized and after work hours, the blocks can be separated and organized depending on the space available.
While these blocks themselves represent a safe dining experience, the Chicago-based, urban designers intend to implement further safety protocols, such as one-way routes for wait staff and pedestrians, along with security blocks in order to minimize traffic flow on the sidewalk.
Heated Tables
Working from Japanese modes of dining, Chicago-based Ellie Henderson planned outdoor heated tables for IDEO’s Winter Design Challenge. Heated tables, also known as kotatsu, are common in Japan and provide an economical way to keep warm during cold months. Typically found indoors, heated tables represent a hub of warmth for households. By making a few modifications, Henderson hopes to bring Hygge dining, a Danish concept meant in regard to life’s simple pleasures, to the streets of Chicago. This design stands out for its open-air approach to dining. This means that servers and restaurant-owners will still have to maintain COVID-19 safety protocol. Air circulation is vital in reducing the transmission of Coronavirus, which means this design might thrive so long as initiatives such as the closure of streets for comfortable outdoor dining remain in place. Perhaps the most economical design option, heated tables’ construction would require only preexisting material: a source of heat, blanket, screws, and a table.
Inspired by the Japanese way of dining (kotatsu) an economical, and familiar material make up this design. All that it needs is a tabletop, blanket, a source of heat, and some screws. The heating element typically remains out of view, underneath the table and blanket covering.
In addition to dining experiences, bars, festivals, and other indoor services have changed their indoor seating to similar variants of the heated table design, inspired by kotatsu, as pictured above.
Few industries have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic like the fitness industry has changed. Acclimating to the increasingly strange times, home gym designers have taken to the drawing boards by storm. Working out at home is possible, yes. Fun? Depends. Comfortable? Hard to say. What’s definite is that the team at G-Wall turned the everchanging state of 2020 into the well-knit, conceptual core of their sleek, modular home gym design. Recently, the designers behind the G-Wall Home Fitness System were presented with 2020’s K-Design Award.
Instead of answering the unanswerable (really, who can say what’s up next for 2020), the team behind G-Wall designed their home gym specifically so that it could be stored behind a closet or armoire cabinet’s door. That way the time that you would have spent making room for your home fitness system, instead is spent actually putting it to use. G-Wall’s Home Fitness System has several standout features: variable modules, user-adjustability, and compatibility, to name a few. Each user decides on which modules they want to comprise the larger system. This means that despite the amount of space in your home, G-Wall’s design makes it possible to incorporate a home gym anywhere. The different modules that users can decide on range from cardiovascular equipment, to free weights and even heavy training. The gear that comes with each module is stored in cabinets or racks that easily hang behind doors or however the user deems appropriate for their personal space.
Once quarantine started, many of us twiddled our thumbs while figuring out how to stay healthy and active within the confines of our respective homes. Fitness and health remained a top priority for many global citizens. It was never a question of compromise or adjustment when it came to working out during quarantine. Rather, designers and gym-goers took to the drawing boards to concoct their own solutions. That’s all to say that while the fitness industry has indeed changed with 2020’s unpredictable timeline, some of the most innovative new designs have been devised. Such deliberate and convenient designs like G-Wall prove that as unanswerable as some questions may be, as uncertain as the time may feel, design’s practical and adaptive nature is one thing on which we can always depend.
I’ve noticed something rather interesting over the past couple of years. The purpose of a design, any design, is to see itself evolve in a way that benefits users as well as the designer that had the idea in the first place. A well-designed product isn’t something that can exist in isolation with a ribbon pinned to it… yet most award programs do just that. They look at products, identify a few of them which look promising, give them a certificate or trophy, and move on to the next product… and the process repeats itself year after year. Most award programs don’t incubate great ideas into wonderful products… they just identify them and put them on a website for others to see, and that’s something I’ve come to identify with a lot of awards, but not the Lexus Design Award.
Imagine having great designers gather around your idea and nourish it into something truly fruitful. Imagine having all the resources you need to prototype your idea into something that WORKS… not on paper, in reality. Imagine spending 3 months under the wing of industry-leading mentors who help guide you through the design process. The Lexus Design Award isn’t really like other awards… it’s part award, part internship, part incubator, and part institute. When you apply for the Lexus Design Award, you’re enrolling yourself into a 3-month course with internationally-recognized mentors like Joe Doucet (Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners), Mariam Kamara (Principal Architect, Atelier Masomi), Sputniko! (Associate Professor of Design at the Tokyo University of the Arts), and Sabine Marcelis (Founder, Studio Sabine Marcelis. Out of all the award participants, 6 Finalists are chosen to be a part of this mentorship experience. During this time, the mentors work with you ON your project (sort of like the most personalized internship ever), taking your rough concept to fruition, while Lexus incubates the product with as much as 3 million Japanese Yen or $25,000 dedicated to prototyping the projects to a working proof-of-concept.
The Lexus Design Award’s core objective has always been to foster great ideas and great talent. Creating the perfect environment for a design to grow, Lexus helps engineer ideas into real, impactful solutions for a better future. The awards are free for all, focusing on young talent looking to find their footing in the industry, and offering them the ability to take their nascent ideas to new heights, with advice from established professional mentors. At the end of the mentorship phase, a Grand Prix finalist is chosen by the award’s esteemed judging panel comprising of Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator at MoMA), Greg Lynn (Architect and CEO Piaggio Fast Forward), Dong Gong (Founder & Design Principal of Vector Architects), and Simon Humphries (Head of Toyota and Lexus Global Design).
Entries for the 2021 edition of the Lexus Design Award are now open, with the theme echoing Lexus’ brand principle – “Anticipate, Innovate and Captivate for a better tomorrow”. Head to the Discover Lexus website to submit your own designs for a chance to collaborate with world-class mentors and incubate your ideas into reality, or scroll down to check out some of the past winners of the Lexus Design Award as inspiration!
Submit Your Designs Now for Lexus Design Award 2021. Last Date for Submissions: October 11th, 2020.
Lexus Design Award Past Winners
Lexus first launched this annual international award in 2013 to nurture up-and-coming designers and help them realize their vision around the future of design.
Open Source Communities by BellTower (2020 Grand Prix Winner)
A vast number of Kenyans suffer from a combination of problems like water shortage, diseases caused by consumption of unfiltered/unfit water, having to walk miles to get water on a daily basis, or alternatively having to pay high rates for local water distribution. “In Nairobi, high-tech coexists with urban poverty”, say the team at BellTower, who designed the Open Source Communities project which creates a new format of community-building that relies on efficient allocation of resources that help the lower-income communities get access to basic necessities like water. The project creates a centralized water-reservoir – a structure that sits between hundreds of homes, providing water to every single one of them. The structure’s innovative format allows it to harvest and conserve rainwater, while actively filtering it of dirt, microorganisms, and other impurities. During the monsoons, surplus water helps generate money for the communities too, allowing them to get an extra source of income while bridging the vast resource gap. However, the best part about the Open Source Communities is that it exists as a public-utility template. Its open-source nature gives it unlimited flexibility, allowing it to be modified to fit in practically any scenario.
Algorithmic Lace by Lisa Marks (2019 Grand Prix Winner)
Bringing Algorithms and Attire together in a beautifully crafted garment with a noble purpose, Algorithmic Lace uses advanced three-dimensional modeling to handcraft bespoke bras for breast cancer survivors who have undergone mastectomy surgery. Algorithms have a long-standing love-affair with the textile industry, as one of the first machines to use algorithms was the Jacquard Loom back in the 1800s. The loom was controlled by a series of punched cards, which contained information that the loom read. Different cards had different algorithms into it and by switching the cards in the loom, you could tell it to alternate between complex textile weaves like brocade, damask and matelassé. Algorithmic Lace builds on that rich history, by using lines of code to create bras that are custom-built for their wearers. These garments are made specifically to functionally suit women who’ve undergone surgery, and the algorithmic pattern helps create a well-fitted, comfortable brassiere that’s also incredibly aesthetic to look at, empowering the wearer with confidence, along with their new lease of life.
Pixel by Hiroto Yoshizoe (2017 Grand Prix Winner)
There’s sheer magic in how the Pixel can actually take what you see and reduce its resolution to a handful of pixels… creating an illusion of being in a low-res world. At its heart is a uniquely crafted module that takes light as an input, and through repeated internal reflection, turns inputted images into square outputs. Imagine how the mirrors on a periscope work, taking an image from the top and carrying them down to the viewfinder below… this module does something similar, but with a different result. Stack enough of these modules together and you get the Pixel, a dynamic wall that instantly pixelates anything behind it. The Pixel relies on a powerful light source, and in this case, uses a projector. Project an image on it and the modules average out the light entering them, instantly pixelating the image and giving us a new perspective on the way we see light and shadows!
Agar Plasticity by AMAM (2016 Grand Prix Winner)
As its name suggests, the Agar Plasticity project uses Agar, a gelatinous marine algal material, as a replacement for plastics, creating a naturally occurring alternative to one of nature’s largest pollutants. Perfectly encapsulating the Lexus theme of ‘designing for a better tomorrow’, the project envisions a use of Agar as an alternative to the plastics found in packaging. Given that packaging for a product is often discarded immediately after purchase, Agar Plasticity hopes to create a solution that is eco-friendlier. Agar itself is derived from nature, and when treated a certain way, can be molded into containers, trays, and films that can replace single-use plastics. When discarded, the Agar can easily degrade in water or land, turning into nutrition for microorganisms and helping reduce waste. Japan-based design-trio AMAM is currently working to get larger institutions and corporations to look into the use of Agar as a safe plastic-alternative.
Inaho by Hideki Yoshimoto and Yoshinaka Ono (2013 Grand Prix Winner)
Yet another example of how lighting can be more of an experience, Inaho captures the tranquil beauty of watching rice-plants sway in the breeze. Created by Japanese duo Hideki Yoshimoto and Yoshinaka Ono, Inaho captures a strong Japanese cultural element, creating something that’s not just eye-catching but also rooted in history. The lights come mounted on tall, flexible metal rods, which gently lean towards people as they approach it. The interactive element doesn’t just make the Inaho interesting in a tactile sense, it also creates a wonderful series of moving highlights and shadows as the rice-plant-inspired lamps lean in your direction as you approach them, prompting you to move closer. The word Inaho literally translates to ‘a ear of rice’ in Japanese.
Submissions are being accepted until October 11th, 2020.
Imagine this, you’re wrapping up an important business call, hitting your stride on a deadline-based project, or just catching up with some good friends when suddenly the doorbell rings and interrupts the moment. You have three options: one, you can tune the sound out until it goes away, two, you can greet whoever’s at the door at the risk of losing quality time, or, you can install a doorbell that decides for you. The designers at Ontario-based 1Byone Products Inc. recently won 2020 iF Design Award in Discipline: Professional Concept with their ‘Do Not Disturb’ Doorbell, which thankfully provides the third option. While the residential device is not yet on the market, the targeted development time could take up to a year.
The concept is simple: by displaying the green or red button on the DND doorbell’s exterior dial, users can either let visitors know that they’re around and available or encourage them to come back once they’re free to chat. When the doorbell’s button is set on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, visitors will feel discouraged from, well, disturbing. Better yet, if the visitor decides to ignore the message, then the doorbell still will not produce any sound despite the visitor pressing on. Of course, when the design is turned to its opposite setting, it works exactly as the common doorbell would.
Along with the waterproof, outdoor dial, the designers with 1Byone Products Inc. designed a wireless transmitter that can be plugged in any three-prong outlet throughout the house. The design is extremely user-friendly, which only enhances the product’s basic functions. The three-prong transmitter’s dual-horn speaker produces a clearer and more concentrated doorbell ring. The dial that adheres to your chosen door is purposefully and visually simplistic, appealing to the product design’s universality. Whichever color the dial’s holes reveal, 1Byone designed the product so that the ‘Do Not Disturb’ message can be seen from all angles and in any light, which only enhances the doorbell’s user-friendliness. So, whether you’re self-quarantining for personal reasons or rushing to meet your deadline, there’s no need to explain, just turn the dial.
Earlier today, Lexus Design Awards announced their winner for the 2020 edition of their award program. The winning project, Open Source Communities by Kenya-based BellTower design, captured the jury’s hearts for being innovative, well-structured, extremely detailed, and having a widespread impact by providing low-income communities with clean water. The Open Source Communities project was one of 6 projects to make it to the finalist phase of the Lexus Design Awards, resonating the award’s theme of “Designing for a better tomorrow”. The Lexus Design Award’s unique format helps seek out such revolutionary ideas and enables them to grow and evolve into full-fledged designs that benefit humanity. The Awards program sees thousands of entries from multiple countries every year, out of which 6 promising projects enter the finalist-phase. The LDA appoints 4 world-class design mentors; Philippe Malouin, Bethan Gray, Joe Doucet, and Shohei Shigematsu who help guide and coach the participants, taking their ideas to the next stage, and Lexus even helps with funding of prototypes, spending up to 3 million yen. A panel of 4 elite judges; Jeanne Gang, John Maeda, Paola Antonelli, and Simon Humphries, chosen by Lexus then reviews the 6 finalist projects, selecting the Grand Prix winner for the year. This year, the Open Source Communities project won the Lexus Design Award for its ability to create an open-source public-utility template that could potentially help millions of households and neighborhoods harvest, purify, and store water. “By addressing the way that the project will come into being and be sustained economically, the designers broaden our thinking about what design is and could be. While the project is an apparatus to collect and store rainwater for safe drinking, it is also a financial game plan for empowering a community”, added LDA judge Jeanne Gang.
It says a lot when 40% of an entire country relies on water from ‘unimproved water sources’ like ponds, lakes, and rivers, and illegally constructed pipeways. A vast number of Kenyans suffer from a combination of problems like water shortage, diseases caused by consumption of unfiltered/unfit water, having to walk miles to get water on a daily basis, or alternatively having to pay high rates for local water distribution. Something as fundamental as access to clean water is difficult to come by and results in major economical and medical hardships, not to mention the vast chunk of your day going in fetching water.
This skewed distribution of something as simple as water comes from Kenya’s great wealth divide. “In Nairobi high-tech coexists with urban poverty. As a major UN center, Nairobi attracts a global elite”, say the team at BellTower, who designed the Open Source Communities project which was declared the Grand Prix winner of the Lexus Design Award 2020. Open Source Communities, which was one of six finalists selected to compete last January, creates a new format of community-building that relies on efficient allocation of resources that help the communities get access to basic necessities like water. The project creates a centralized water-reservoir – a structure that sits between hundreds of homes, providing water to every single one of them. The structure’s innovative format allows it to harvest and conserve water, while actively filtering it of dirt, microorganisms, and other impurities. During the monsoons, surplus water helps generate money for the communities too, allowing them to get an extra source of income while bridging the vast resource gap.
At the heart of the Open Source Communities is its water resource center – a sustainably built, community-owned structure that helps provide clean water to all residents. The center is made entirely from locally available materials like bamboo and recycled plastic composite bricks, and is entirely pre-fabricated, allowing for quick on-site assembly. The center’s iconic design comes from its split-roof which helps harvest water as well as effectively provide shade and ventilation. The slanting outer roof provides shade as well as helps harvest water, while a mechanically tilting inner roof effectively controls shade and ventilation inside the resource center. Both roofs can be fitted with solar panels too, giving them an additional benefit of being able to harvest clean energy. The water resource center is replenished for the most part of the year by Kenya’s monsoons. The monsoon season is split into two parts, supplying the country with 1000ml of rainfall per year. These resource centers collect the rain, passing it through filtration systems that make them safe for consumption and daily use. People living within the community get access to water whenever they need (using foot-operated taps that minimize contact), and any excess water can be sold at a profit, giving the community an extra source of income during the monsoons. The resource centers are owned by the communities too, in the form of a monthly payment that gives them full ownership of the facility in less than a year. The benefits of the water resource center go well beyond supplying communities with clean water and a source of income. They keep people healthier too, while allowing them to save money as well as time. At the end of the day, an empowered community leads to a stronger workforce, happier people, a healthier economy, and lower inequalities.
The Open Source Communities project was designed by Kenya-based BellTower, a group of five members with diverse talents and a common goal… to create a system that helps bridge the resource gap and uplift lives. The best part about the Open Source Communities is that it exists as a public-utility template. Its open-source nature gives it unlimited flexibility, allowing it to be modified to fit in practically any scenario… thus truly echoing the Lexus Design Award’s ethos of “Designing for a better tomorrow”.
BellTower from Kenya is the Grand Prix winner of the Lexus Design Award 2020. BellTower’s entry, entitled “Open Source Communities”, was selected for the coveted award from among 2,042 total submissions from 79 countries. Judging criteria for this 8th edition of the Award were based on the three key principles of the Lexus brand: Anticipate, Innovate and Captivate in the quest for a Better Tomorrow.
The winning design “Open Source Communities” addresses challenges often found in developing countries by using smart open-source planning to design affordable communities with sustainable clean water resources.
Accepting the award, John Brian Kamau said ” It was a great honor for us as BellTower, to be one of the 6 finalists and then win the Grand Prix of Lexus Design Award 2020. Our journey began with many challenges. However, we persevered to showcase our ambitious concept. Our experience has taught us invaluable lifelong lessons. All our future designs will be aligned with the key principles we learned as part of the Lexus family.”
Announcing the panel’s decision, program judge and Studio Gang Founding Principal Jeanne Gang said, “At different moments in time, design has celebrated bold aesthetics, extreme functionality, and even humor and wit. But today, with our world plagued by the enormous issues of climate change and social inequality, there is a design imperative for systemic design solutions. The Grand-Prix winner expands our definition of design to include systems of finance for community projects and engages the critical role clean drinking water plays in citizens’ability to thrive. By addressing the way that the project will come into being and be sustained economically, the designers broaden our thinking about what design is and could be. While the project is an apparatus to collect and store rainwater for safe drinking, it is also a financial game plan for empowering a community.”
The Lexus Design Award 2020 Finalists
Feltscape by Théophile Peju & Salvatore Cicero
Think of the Feltscape as an isolation chamber that imitates the feeling of being within a womb. Designed by UK-based Théophile Peju & Salvatore Cicero, the Feltscape is a ‘breathing cloud’ made of felt and recycled bio-plastic with an innovative robotic fabrication process. Equipped with sensors and kinetic mechanisms, the Feltscape can sense a user’s breathing patterns, allowing the isolation chamber’s smart membrane to react to its user’s breath. Creating a perfect atmosphere for reflection, meditation, and an escape from the immediate world, Feltscape provides a cocoon-like isolation experience that helps slowly and surely calm people down. Its organic design reflects inspiration from cocoons too!
Pursewit by Aqsa Ajmal
The Pursewit is uniquely positioned to help the visually impaired not just be independent, but also develop vocational skills that help them make a living. Designed by Pakistan-based designer, Aqsa Ajmal, after her friend lost her vision in an accident, the Pursewit makes sewing more accessible with a design that’s built around ease-of-use with an approach that’s immediately intuitive and with a relatively shallow learning curve. The design scales the form of the sewing machine down, making it less cumbersome while also being simpler and safer. Ajmal hopes that the Pursewit will go beyond just helping the visually impaired be more independent by sewing or fixing their clothes, by also allowing them to take on a skill set that helps them earn a daily wage and be financially independent too.
Biocraft by Sutherlin Santo
Biocraft attempts at transforming mundane objects into living ones that interact with the environment. Originally named Bio.Scales, the Biocraft is a revolutionary material that combines natural biopolymers with emerging technology to create a new material that possesses capabilities like being able to extract CO2 from the air, rid the ambient environment of pollutants, or even disseminate nutrients into the atmosphere. Created by Paul and Garrett Sutherlin Santo from Los Angeles, Biocraft hopes to eventually replace materials like thermoplastics, eventually creating regular products that don’t just exist to solve a problem, but rather serve a higher purpose by being ‘living entities’ that have a positive impact on human health and the environment.
Flash Pak by Yaokun Wu
Akin to having a fire-extinguisher mounted on the walls of buildings, Flash Pak by Yaokun Wu of China aims at providing flood-prone areas with instant access to life-jackets. Designed to be attached to lamp-poles in areas susceptible to flash floods, the FlashPak sits in its protective housing at regular times, but in the event of a flood, naturally rises to the surface thanks to the life-jacket’s innate buoyancy. Floods, now an unfortunately common by-product of climate change, displaces millions each year, resulting in thousands of deaths annually. Solutions like the Flash Pak can turn a lamp-post (or any regular post) into a potential life-saving zone, giving people instant access to life-saving jackets during times of need. New jackets can easily be placed back in their housing once the flood subsides, and the Flash Pak’s automatic deployment during a flash flood makes it an incredibly effective, life-changing solution.
L.I.C.K. by Irina Samoilova
A quirky example of biomimicry, the L.I.C.K. by Irina Samoilova from Russia is a portable body cleaner that takes inspiration from the way felines clean themselves. The L.I.C.K. is modeled on a cat’s tongue, with a soft cleaning surface with unique papillae that helps people who are unable to have a bath to clean themselves. Designed for people with no immediate access to water, or with injuries/bandages/casts that require being kept away from water, the L.I.C.K. provides a unique tactile experience that helps keep the body clean. Designed to work just the way a cat’s tongue does, the L.I.C.K. can simply be run across the body while its specially designed papillae and U-shaped cavities help lift dirt off the body (while feeling great to the touch too!)
Open Source Communities by BellTower
What if architecture, like software, could be open-sourced so that people can collectively develop something better together? The Open Source Communities, a Grand Prix finalist from Kenya-based BellTower, hopes to create universally available open-source home-design plans that can be used to design communities in developing and underdeveloped countries. These open-sourced homes can help provide a safe and secure haven for people in developing areas, while helping designers leverage the power of open-source planning to effectively allocate resources, allowing communities to even be sustainable, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly by design!
The Grand Prix trophy was designed by Hideki Yoshimoto.
While the pandemic has forced the majority of the world to be confined at home, it’s also helped make the world a smaller place by allowing people to virtually connect and collaborate. Like most events this year, the International Design Conference, hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), is moving to a virtual format with a 24-hour live stream, starting at 12pm EST (US) on September 17th, and ending at 12pm EST (US) on September 18th. For the first time, the International Design Conference will be a truly global event, allowing people from across the world to attend the continuous 24-hour experience that includes 6 keynotes and 18 mainstage presentations, along with dozens of breakout sessions, workshops, and panel discussions.
The event’s schedule is divided into six tracks over two days, featuring elite presenters from all around the world, representing industry-leading tech companies, design studios, and innovation hubs like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Puma, Airbnb, and many more (logging in from countries including Denmark, Nigeria, India, China, England, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, and Pakistan, as well as from cities across the United States). Emcees Kristine Arth (Lobster Phone), Spencer Nugent (Sketch-a-Day.com), Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, IDSA, and Jeevak Badve, FIDSA will co-host and lead different content blocks, introducing experts from a variety of fields including industrial design, graphic design, furniture design, service design, UX and UI, social impact design, and more, calling upon them to share their insights, tools, and strategies for innovation and creativity.
The days leading up to the conference are filled with a roster of free events (you’ll need to RSVP in advance), with virtual design studio tours on Sept. 14th and 15th, followed by IDSA’s annual membership meeting and year-in-review, the annual IDSA Awards, and the 40th annual International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) Ceremony, held on September 16th (Wednesday).
The International Design Conference’s origin stretches all the way back to IDSA’s inception and its first national meeting in 1965. Since then, IDC has blossomed from IDSA’s annual membership gathering into a massive cultural and learning-exchange event for designers across disciplines, with diverse speakers, seminars, workshops, and challenges to foster a stronger design community. The IDC was held in Chicago last year and New Orleans before that, attracting hundreds of designers and creatives across all disciplines. This year’s IDC goes beyond borders, offering a unique opportunity to designers, students, educators, and enthusiasts around the world to participate in real-time. All content will be recorded for IDC ticket holders.
Visit the International Design Conference website to grab tickets to this event, and don’t forget that you can join the free, virtual design studio tours as well, and even watch the IDSA Awards and the IDEA 2020 Ceremony right from the comfort of your home!
World’s Premier Design Event – IDC 2020, Goes Virtual
The International Design Conference 2020, normally an in-person event, is going virtual and truly global this year. Starting at 12pm EDT (US) on Thursday, September 17 and ending at 12pm EDT (US) on Friday, September 18, the livestream experience will bring attendees 24 hours of uninterrupted design content from around the world.
The continuous 24-hour span will include six keynote presentations and 18 mainstage presentations, in addition to dozens of breakout sessions, workshops, panel discussions, and side-bar social interactions, all happening in a carefully choreographed progression.
Keynotes
Presenters
What to Expect
With its roots as the national meeting of the Industrial Designers Society of America, the IDC has grown into something much bigger. IDC 2019 was held in Chicago, IL (see above video), and IDC 2018 was in New Orleans, LA. Each event drew hundreds of designers from around the world and across disciplines.
This year, the virtual IDC’s eclectic mix of content is tailor-made to provide inspiration, challenge assumptions, and advance the conversation about what design can contribute to the world’s future. Without leaving the comfort of your home, you have the opportunity to learn from design leaders who will present their work, passions, and authentic stories with hundreds of designers worldwide.
These expert presenters come from industry-leading tech companies, design studios, and innovation hubs like Microsoft, Puma, Airbnb, Samsung, and many more. They’ll be logging in from countries ranging from Nigeria to Denmark to England to Germany to the United States, and offering plenty of design knowledge, skill-sharing, best practices, and tips for success that will expand your perception of what’s possible.
Tickets
General admission to the IDC 2020 is $250 USD per ticket, which helps to cover the cost of subsidized rates for students and goes toward current and future IDSA programming. The cost to attend for an IDSA Professional or Young Professional Member is $150 USD, and the cost for an IDSA Student Member to attend is $50 USD.
The words “Design” and “Better” are bound pretty closely together. There is no design if it isn’t making a situation or an experience better, solving a problem, enriching a life, or transforming an industry. Designers are always striving to make the future better than the past, and the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD is committed to rewarding designs and designers that are pushing the boundaries to imagine and ideate for a better future for humanity as well as for the planet. In fact, “Design for a Better Tomorrow” is the underlying theme of the Lexus Design Award 2020. Currently in its 8th year, this year’s Lexus Design Award looks at solutions that have a uniquely positive impact on society, humanity, and in the process, to reward a new generation of designers for their impactful ideas. The Lexus Design Award’s core objective has always been to foster great ideas and great talent. Creating the perfect environment for a design to grow, Lexus helps engineer ideas into real, impactful solutions. The brand’s strong association with design and with innovation helps it accelerate ideas to achieve their full potential. Apart from accelerating, developing, and promoting design projects, the Lexus Design Award helps kickstart design careers too, with exclusive mentorships from international design stalwarts, funding for prototypes (up to 3 million Japanese Yen or $25,000) and the opportunity to have your work judged by the biggest figures in design in the final Grand Prix competition. Past Judges include architects Sir David Adjaye and Shigeru Ban, famed curator Aric Chen, and artist-designer Jaime Hayon. This year, the Grand Prix winner will be announced on September 1st on the Lexus Design Award website.
The award process for the Lexus Design Award is pretty unique too. After the entry submission phase, 6 Grand Prix finalists are selected to be mentored at the brand space INTERSECT BY LEXUS in New York by a panel of globally renowned creators with established design practices and decades of experience in the field. This year Joe Doucet (Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners), Bethan Gray (Creative Director, Bethan Gray Design), Philippe Malouin (Director, Philippe Maluin Studio), and Shohei Shigematsu (Partner-Director OMA New York) served as mentors. Mentors help define and refine ideas, turning them into world-class products which are then prototyped and incubated by the Lexus Design Award. The projects and their refined prototypes are then presented and judged by an esteemed panel of judges in a virtual Grand Prix selection event in August. Winners, apart from being able to showcase the award in their resume, also benefit from having been mentored by world-class designers, having their design taken from concept to finished prototype, being judged by design and tech icons like John Maeda (technologist & author of The Laws Of Simplicity), Jeanne Gang (award-winning architect), Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator at MoMA), and Simon Humphries (Head of Toyota and Lexus Global Design), and having their work gain unparalleled exposure through the programme.
Entries for the 2020 Lexus Design Award came from as many as 79 countries, spanning across the categories of Industrial Design, Architecture, Technology/Engineering, Interior Design, and Fashion Design. As the participants currently go through their prototyping phase, here’s a look at the 6 Grand Prix finalist designs.
Biocraft attempts at transforming mundane objects into living ones that interact with the environment. Originally named Bio.Scales, the Biocraft is a revolutionary material that combines natural biopolymers with emerging technology to create a new material that possesses capabilities like being able to extract CO2 from the air, rid the ambient environment of pollutants, or even disseminate nutrients into the atmosphere. Created by Paul and Garrett Sutherlin Santo from Los Angeles, Biocraft hopes to eventually replace materials like thermoplastics, eventually creating regular products that don’t just exist to solve a problem, but rather serve a higher purpose by being ‘living entities’ that have a positive impact on human health and the environment.
Feltscape by Théophile Peju & Salvatore Cicero
Think of the Feltscape as an isolation chamber that imitates the feeling of being within a womb. Designed by UK-based Théophile Peju & Salvatore Cicero, the Feltscape is a ‘breathing cloud’ made of felt and recycled bio-plastic with an innovative robotic fabrication process. Equipped with sensors and kinetic mechanisms, the Feltscape can sense a user’s breathing patterns, allowing the isolation chamber’s smart membrane to react to its user’s breath. Creating a perfect atmosphere for reflection, meditation, and an escape from the immediate world, Feltscape provides a cocoon-like isolation experience that helps slowly and surely calm people down. Its organic design reflects inspiration from cocoons too!
Flash Pak by Yaokun Wu
Akin to having a fire-extinguisher mounted on the walls of buildings, Flash Pak by Yaokun Wu of China aims at providing flood-prone areas with instant access to life-jackets. Designed to be attached to lamp-poles in areas susceptible to flash floods, the FlashPak sits in its protective housing at regular times, but in the event of a flood, naturally rises to the surface thanks to the life-jacket’s innate buoyancy. Floods, now an unfortunately common by-product of climate change, displaces millions each year, resulting in thousands of deaths annually. Solutions like the Flash Pak can turn a lamp-post (or any regular post) into a potential life-saving zone, giving people instant access to life-saving jackets during times of need. New jackets can easily be placed back in their housing once the flood subsides, and the Flash Pak’s automatic deployment during a flash flood makes it an incredibly effective, life-changing solution.
L.I.C.K. by Irina Samoilova
A quirky example of biomimicry, the L.I.C.K. by Irina Samoilova from Russia is a portable body cleaner that takes inspiration from the way felines clean themselves. The L.I.C.K. is modeled on a cat’s tongue, with a soft cleaning surface with unique papillae that helps people who are unable to have a bath to clean themselves. Designed for people with no immediate access to water, or with injuries/bandages/casts that require being kept away from water, the L.I.C.K. provides a unique tactile experience that helps keep the body clean. Designed to work just the way a cat’s tongue does, the L.I.C.K. can simply be run across the body while its specially designed papillae and U-shaped cavities help lift dirt off the body (while feeling great to the touch too!)
Open Source Communities by BellTower
What if architecture, like software, could be open-sourced so that people can collectively develop something better together? The Open Source Communities, a Grand Prix finalist from Kenya-based BellTower, hopes to create universally available open-source home-design plans that can be used to design communities in developing and underdeveloped countries. These open-sourced homes can help provide a safe and secure haven for people in developing areas, while helping designers leverage the power of open-source planning to effectively allocate resources, allowing communities to even be sustainable, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly by design!
Pursewit by Aqsa Ajmal
The Pursewit is uniquely positioned to help the visually impaired not just be independent, but also develop vocational skills that help them make a living. Designed by Pakistan-based designer, Aqsa Ajmal, after her friend lost her vision in an accident, the Pursewit makes sewing more accessible with a design that’s built around ease-of-use with an approach that’s immediately intuitive and with a relatively shallow learning curve. The design scales the form of the sewing machine down, making it less cumbersome while also being simpler and safer. Ajmal hopes that the Pursewit will go beyond just helping the visually impaired be more independent by sewing or fixing their clothes, by also allowing them to take on a skill set that helps them earn a daily wage and be financially independent too.
The Grand Prix trophy was designed by Hideki Yoshimoto.
