It’s 2021 and face masks still suck. They hurt your ears, cling to your mouth, fog your glasses, and have your upper lip feeling hotter and more humid than a sauna. However, they don’t have to be that way. The Mask Shield has a clever workaround to make wearing masks a lot more comfortable. Forming an intermediary layer between the mask and your face, the Mask Shield gives you breathing space… quite literally. It makes sure your mask isn’t sticking to your nose and mouth, while ensuring that a proper seal is created around your nose so your glasses don’t fog up. Lastly, it sits on your face like a pair of spectacles, causing less strain to your ears, and comes with a set of hooks that hold onto your mask (instead of having your mask loop around your ears).
The Mask Shield is more like a face-shield for the lower half of your face. It makes wearing a mask more comfortable, and lets you wear your PPE for longer without feeling strain or fatigue. The transparent design means you could potentially wear just the Mask Shield while socially distancing, and pop your mask on when you’re around people. The rigid body acts almost like an endoskeleton, giving your mask some definition so it doesn’t cling to your nose and mouth, and that nose-seal provides a major service to humanity by keeping your glasses fog-free, because believe it or not… nearly 75% of all human adults wear glasses!
If you are a part of our Instagram community, you could have not missed this viral (and controversial!) post that shed light on gender bias in the design world. As conversations progressed, I realized the bias goes beyond genders and there are MANY segments of our audience who are underrepresented. We need to talk to and more about women, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and disabled groups – pay attention to their experiences, their needs, parts where they have felt left out of consideration when using a product or service. The post was a conversation starter but it needed to be followed by action, so Yanko Design teamed up with designer (and powerhouse) Ti Chang as well as Render Weekly to encourage participation from the global community with the aim of designing to break a bias.
“This is a chance to start to redesign products and experiences that do not address the needs of womxn and many underrepresented groups and historically marginalized communities. Let’s reimagine what could be! Let’s get these ideas out there by collaborating with EACH OTHER! Talk to your community, reexamine your privilege, reach out to this community and see if you can team up with them! Offer to realize other people’s ideas if you are super strong in rendering! If you have a great idea reach out to someone who is a great sketcher! Just get these ideas out there for us to see what a more equitable world COULD look like,” said Ti Chang.
Here are some of our favorites from the #RWDesignBias challenge –
CURVD by Amin Hasani
Hasani is one of the co-founders of CURVD, a universal mug that works for everyone! “Disabilities do not exist, design flaws do. When a product fails to serve a person, that person is not disabled, the product just wasn’t designed right. The CURVD mug was designed to allow all hands, regardless of their hand capability or shape, to be able to enjoy a beverage without limitations,” says Hasani. The mug was launched as a human-friendly design with a patented handle that allows all people, regardless of their hand capability, to be able to enjoy a beverage without limitations. Enjoying a warm beverage is a universal joy and deserves a universal design.
Maria Contraceptive Pill Dispenser by Romane Caudullo and Theotim Auger
Maria is a smart pill dispenser specially designed for the contraceptive pill with the aim to free women from pill omission pressure and its side effects. “Because, while the pill benefits the whole couple, the woman is often alone in managing this contraceptive, the constraints, and stress associated with it. It seems to us right and necessary to use design to improve this treatment,” says the team. Maria makes it easy for women to take the pill and improves its effectiveness by making the process more efficient. A much-needed redesign that comes 60 years after the FDA approval of birth control pills!
Changing Station by Claudia Miranda-Montealegre
Baby stations in public are only found in women’s bathrooms and do not take into account the needs of male caregivers. The current design does not feel safe, or hygienic, which leads to people using surfaces that might not be ideal (cars, floors, and counters/tables). This puts the burden on the female partners and takes away equal access from male partners. This conceptual baby changing station has a touch-less opening system, includes UV and alcohol self-cleaning capabilities, as well as integrated adjustable lighting. It upgrades the safety features to provide a comfortable experience for parents and infants alike. It also includes details such as hooks for bags, safety belts that can be adjusted using one hand, and a diaper dispenser for a seamless experience.
Pivot by Iris Ritsma
Even in 2020 majority of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is still being designed for the male body including body armor which is made to protect people from being harmed or even killed by gunfire. 71% of women working in emergency services wear PPE that is designed for men – it doesn’t fit women, their bodily movement, health issues, and more. Pivot is a soft concealable armor designed to optimally fit the anthropomorphic characteristics of women’s bodies. Each size comes with three variable chest sizes and the diagonal straps fit neatly around women’s naturally tighter waist with raised sides on the bottom provide extra freedom of movement in the hips. Pivot provides optimal protective coverage, maximizes women’s mobility, and increases women’s comfort significantly.
Liberia by Nipuni Siyambalapitiya
Current luggage scales in the market assume that most people can lift up a 50 lb/23kg on a hook/strap and weighed, it doesn’t take into account the elderly or those with disabilities. Liberia is a pneumatic luggage scale that allows you to weigh your bag WHILE packing! It is a pillow-like scale and accompanying app. It comes with an electronic air-pump that inflates it and a pressure-sensitive valve that records change in air pressure inside the scale as the weight on top changes. Buttons and tabs are large enough for people with low grip strength and have different tactile qualities, making it easy to maneuver the scale even if you can’t see too well. Simply place the deflated scale on the floor, put your bag on top, inflate the scale via the app and start packing while Libera tells you the weight in real-time.
Interruption Buzzer for women by Kristi Bartlett
Trump interrupted Hilary Clinton 51 times during their debate and in 2020. This buzzer is inspired by the board game Taboo and aims to make group discussions easier. The AI-enabled meeting assistant combats the phenomenon of women being talked over in meetings. Put it in the center of the table at your meeting and adjust the dial to reflect the gender makeup of your group to make sure the contributions follow the proportions. The device will buzz annoyingly and loudly when it detects a woman being interrupted by a man or another woman. It will also turn blue if it detects that men are speaking more than 50% of the time and pink if the same applies to women. The goal is to keep your meetings purple – equal chances!
Diffuser by Caterina Rizzoni
This diffuser re-imagines blow-drying curly hair, using a handheld form factor to help users offset discomfort and pain when using diffuser attachments on traditional dryers. Caterina spoke to over a dozen curly-haired womxn and relied heavily on design for usability. She aimed to reduce the ergonomic pain points present in the current design. This dryer was designed to protect naturally curly hair – the extra deep bowl saves room for curl pattern formation, while the dished fingers naturally conform to the user’s head. The use of metal for the diffusing end allows for even more drying from radiant heat, which means less airflow and less frizz! The soft braided cord easily swivels out of the way during use, and the soft heat-resistant over-mold on the body is easy to grip + easy to clean. Curly hair people are often forgotten like left-handed people and we need to break this bias.
BAGPAL by Tim Zarki
Public restrooms lack hooks to hang your bag from, and no one likes putting their bag on the gross public restroom floor. It is an uncomfortable and stressful experience, especially for women as they carry bags more often than men. BAGPAL can be used to hang your bag when you are using a public restroom and need both hands to change a tampon or pad. It is a multipurpose hook-shaped product that travels with you to hold your things when you can not. It has a strong stainless steel skeleton and colorful waterproof skin that is easy to clean when you wash your hands. With the pandemic, people are all the more careful of common surfaces and we don’t want to carry germs back home with us on our bags!
Well, Jetsons didn’t get the flying car right, but they sure as hell nailed the fact that we’d need to wear helmets outdoors!
Meet the NE-1, an experimental face-helmet that looks like something a bee-keeper would wear, but is in-fact protective headgear that’s both safe and comfortable to wear in the pandemic. Developed by Texas-based ValhallaMED, the NE-1 helmet combines the face-shield and mask into a singular device you wear on your head. Fitted with a powered air system and a patent-pending filtration mechanism, the NE-1 routes air-flow to make sure the air you breathe is 95% pure, but without needing an air-tight seal like most conventional masks. Not only does the mask filter the air you inhale AND exhale, it comes fitted with coolers that keep you breezy and comfortable outdoors. The cool air, aside from giving you overall comfort, also helps the NE-1’s wide visor from misting or fogging up. The result is similar to wearing an actual bike-helmet. Face-protection and full visibility, albeit with two significant upgrades… clean air, and active powered cooling that lets you wear the helmet for hours.
One would argue that a futuristic, Jetsons-inspired helmet would be incomplete with its own comms system… which is why the NE-1 is outfitted with a Bluetooth audio system that lets you both speak and listen to others while you’ve got the mask on! The mask comes with a flexible neoprene neck-seal and a unique shape, accommodating a wide range of face sizes, and even letting you comfortably wear it with spectacles or sunglasses!
Designer: ValhallaMED
The Bluetooth audio and external speakers are ideal for “close-talkers” and “low-talkers” alike.
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We all know the things we have to carry to protect ourselves from bad weather – umbrellas, scarves, hats, etc. Given the new reality we are all living in, let’s add pandemic to that bad weather which means we need to carry more things to protect ourselves because we can’t see this storm coming. PPE like masks, gloves, and sanitizers are helping us complete our essential errands but we cannot be in lockdown forever, the world will be opening up again and in this ‘new normal’ we will see modifications to shared spaces like protective screens that will continue to reduce the transmission risk.
Now not every cafe, co-working space, park or library will have screens to protect you and in that case, you carry your own – say hello to Ventaglio! Trust me, it is not weird to take extra steps to protect yourself, it is as good as carrying an umbrella. Ventaglio is a portable screen that makes PPE look aesthetic while making sure you can go to more places than just the grocery store. It was designed to help people transition out of quarantine safely and continue practicing social distancing in common places. The screen is created using translucent polyethylene so that it doesn’t make you feel too disconnected from the space you are in. It also ensures stability with a belt that can go under the table to fix the divider in place.
Unlike the usual PPE that can leave you feeling a little sad about the times we are living in, the Ventaglio’s portable screen comes with a friendly refreshing vibe. Maybe because it folds and unfolds like a handheld Japanese fan which makes it familiar and something we associate with summer! I can only imagine the beautiful designs this portable screens can come in that will make more people comfortable with its usage – almost like how we decorate our graduation caps. Safe to say that I am a ‘fan’ of the Ventaglio screen.
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Let’s face it. For the foreseeable future, cinemas, malls, conventions, and concerts are just dead on arrival. Any sort of social phenomenon that requires groups of people in close-quarters is going to be a potential health risk; and while we try to get life back on track soon, we just aren’t equipped with the tools to completely safeguard us or change our behavior patterns. The BioVYZR, as strangely dystopian it may look, might just put us on a fast track to a more social future. More comfortable and definitely more protective than a face-mask, or a face-shield, the BioVYZR creates a ‘bubble of safety’ around you. It doesn’t sit around your nose and mouth like a mask, or guard your eyes like a clear visor… it just encapsulates your entire torso in a hazmat-suit-inspired bubble that keeps you ventilated and safe from airborne pathogens and germs.
There was a time, not too long ago, where wearing a face-mask in public seemed outright strange. The novel coronavirus seems to have shifted the Overton window to a point where wearing a mask isn’t a sign of paranoia, it’s a sign of being a good, compliant, health-conscious, and caring citizen. People at VYZR Technologies, however, realized that the mask, while it was a symbol of showing that you were a responsible citizen, wasn’t entirely protective. Wearing a mask kept your eyes vulnerable, and a face-shield still exposed parts of your face and head where the virus could get onto, before traveling to your hands and then your face after you took your mask off. The BioVYZR just prevents any sort of microorganism from even making it to your torso in the first place. It protects your face, your beard (if you have one like I do), and your hair. It’s as simple to wear as a helmet, and unlike a mask and face-shield, doesn’t feel uncomfortable after hours of wearing.
The BioVYZR is cutting-edge PPE made accessible to common folk like us. The unit comes with an anti-fog visor that extends from your face all the way down, to give you unmatched visibility on the front that doesn’t mist up with your breath. A neoprene vest lets you strap the visor in place, creating a literal safe-space around you, while a fan and air-filter at the back route fresh air to the inside of the space, kind of like a space-suit. The air-filter built into the BioVYZR gives you the purification of an N95 mask, without the suffocating feeling of a cloth strapped to your mouth, and creates positive air pressure within the visor, enabling easy breathing and pushing old air out to let fresh air in. The entire setup runs on a battery that lasts for 8-12 hours on a single charge, and a simple hanging loop built right onto the top of the visor lets you hang it up at home when you’re done using it.
I’ll say this outright… the BioVYZR is a bit of a culture shock, but that’s only because it puts personal comfort and protection above all. There aren’t too many cons to the design, aside from the fact that you can’t really look behind you without completely turning around – something that doesn’t seem like a major drawback in the grander scheme of things. The BioVYZR still does a pretty remarkable job of clearing your entire peripheral view, allowing you to look around, even downwards, without a face mask obstructing your vision or fogging up your glasses. Unlike face masks and shields, the BioVYZR sits resting on your shoulders like a backpack. The adult-size weighs 1250 grams (that’s half the weight of a full-face motorbike helmet), while the child-size tops off at just over 1050 grams, and wearing the BioVYZR doesn’t leave or cause any ‘mask lines’ around your nose and mouth. In fact, it doesn’t even ruffle your hairstyle, if that’s something you’re concerned about. Designed to allow you to be socially active without compromising on safety, the BioVYZR’s design eliminates germs (in the air or on your hands) from getting on your face. Yes, you may look a tad bit overcautious, but that can only be a good thing, right?
The BioVYZR is an innovative Personal Protective Equipment that shields the wearer’s face and filters out the air you breathe. The patent-pending design physically protects you from airborne pathogens, allergens, and pollutants.
With its space-age aesthetic, the BioVYZR 1.0 is a stark departure from other types of Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR), a type of PPE traditionally reserved for industrial and healthcare settings. “The problem,” Al-Qaysi, one of the founders, explains, “is that a PAPR can cost around $1,800. The BioVYZRs we’re making will retail for one-tenth of that. The fact that they’re effective, practical, and affordable make our BioVYZRs a game-changer in the field of PPE.”
The BioVYZR’s proprietary structure provides 360-degrees of protection to shield the wearer on all sides. It has a large face shield that offers spectacular optical clarity with an anti-fog surface. Its air purifying system employs a motor-powered fan to draw outside air through two N95 filters. It also filters exiting air to ensure no airborne pathogens get out from under the hood of the BioVYZR.
Another way the BioVYZR offers protection is by blocking the wearer from inadvertently touching their face, protecting their eyes, mouth, and nose from contact with contaminated hands or fomites.
A battery-powered motor fan pushes air into the BioBYZR, creating positive pressure inside the BioVYZR’s hood. This positive pressure pushes out exhaled air from inside through two filtering air vents. Inflowing air passes through a N95 filter to remove up to 95% of particulate matter from the inflowing air. This includes, but is not limited to, aerosol-transmitted pathogens, mist droplets, pollen, dust, soot, and pet dander.
It’s important to keep in mind that if infectious particles are caught in the filters, it is important to take precautions when replacing the filters to avoid contamination. Your BioVYZR will come with detailed instructions on how to safely replace and dispose of used filters.
Even though COVID-19 virions (virus particles) are only .1 microns in diameter, they’re often transmitted through airborne respiratory droplets expelled from the mouth and nose. These infectious droplets can range from 10–100 µm (microns) and will not pass through N95 filters.
When used in a healthcare setting, their medical BioVYZRs have distinct benefits that go beyond superior protection. These include, but are not limited to:
– Not requiring a full face seal to be effective (like masks) – Preventing inadvertent face touching and cross-contamination – Not obstructing the face and mouth for better communication – Facilitating patient interactions and close-proximity care – They can be worn all day long, inside and out of the hospital – They come with disposable sterile covers that can be safely donned/doffed – Their filters can last much longer than N95 masks and require – Less handling (for replacement)
Dynamic Fit:
– Lightweight and comfortable – Can be worn over any outfit – Fitted neoprene vest – Doesn’t touch your hair – Stabilizing chest strap – Waterproof and windproof – Seam sealed for enhanced rain protection – Moisture control liner – UV-Blocking visor underside
