MOTIVATION FOR THE INDEX:2005 AWARD
BODY:
LIFESTRAW TM
The award is given for: The Product.
The award will be received by: The designers: Torben Vestergaard Frandsen, DK, Rob Fleuren NL and Moshe Frommer IS.
Name of Designer(s): Torben Vestergaard Frandsen, Rob Fleuren NL and Moshe Frommer IS.
Designers professional status: Professional
Status of realization: Realized
Kind of design: Tangible – a product
Produced by: The design is produced by Vestergaard Frandsen in China
Year of production, realization or publishing: 2005
Designed in country: Denmark, NL and IS
Used on continents: Africa, Asia, South America – and entire world
www: http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com
QUESTION: How do we get clean drinking water?
BACKGROUND:
According to a UN World Water Report 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and about 80% of all diseases in the developing world are related to unclean water.
MOTIVATION
Good design should have a positive effect on the user and if possible on society. The Lifestraw meets these basic criteria, truly an excellent design solution.
Life Straw offers a simple, elegant solution to a large and complicated problem that profoundly affects many people’s lives around the world. By adressing this problem the designers are opening possibilities of limiting the number of people without clean water – and thereby reducing deaths resulting from this lack, especially in the developing world. LifeStraw delivers clean water through a device that is personal, portable and requires no dependence on electricity, pumps or community infrastructure.
The premise of the design is a globally recognized archetype – the straw – that most people of all ages know how to use intuitively and immediately, and which is usable for all ages as it builds upon the sucking reflex of a newborn child. At the same time the color choice for the design – light blue -communicates a perception of clean water in a simple way.
The design is without moving parts and does not require the use of eletricity, taking into consideration the requirements of the main market where long and difficult transportation, lack of spare parts and the absence of electricity are common
LifeStraw is small, lightweight, portable and affordable at a cost of only US$ 3 each.
It is long lasting and can supply all the clean water a person needs for the span of a year.
Although the target market of the design is the developing world, the design is also ideal for use in other markets. The intuitive functionality and amenable look and feel of the design make it universally appealing. In fact, LifeStraw is an excellent example of the principle of ”Universal Design”, whereby a product developed for a highly specialized population, such as the disabled or the elderly, turns out to be a great product for the broader general market as well. In the developed world LifeStraw could be used for trekking or in places where the quality of water is uncertain, and after temporary breakdowns of sanitary systems. The resent tragic events of the Tsunami and in New Orleans are also dramatic illustrations of the validity and usefulness of this kind of application.
The INDEX: Award Jury also wants to acknowledge the consistent vision of the company Vestergaard Fransen, a textile company founded in 1957, for using their traditional skills to pioneer new ways of improving life for people around the world. Their products include PermaNet mosquito bed netting and ZeroFly, a plastic sheeting impregnated with insecticide for use by refugees in emergency situations.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INDEX: JURY
Add graphic illustrations clarifying the use of the object and replace logos - that are meaningless to the users.
The jury also recommends that LifeStraw be sold in more developed markets at higher prices as a mean of sponsoring use in the developing world.
HOME:
SOFTWALL
The award is given to: The Product.
The award will be received by: Designers Todd MacAllen, Stephanie Forsythe and partner Robert Pasut
Name of Designer(s): Todd MacAllen, Stephanie Forsythe and partner Robert Pasut
Designers professional status: Professional
Status of realization: Realized, with further variations in production and development
Kind of design: Tangible – a product
Produced by: molo
Year of production, realization or publishing: 2004
Designed in country: Canada
Used on continents: Entire World, with an emphasis on the developed world.
Links: www.molodesign.com
QUESTION:
How do we add flexibility to existing housing and encourage flexibility in future housing?
BACKGROUND:
In the western world the majority of inhabitants live in housing stock built in times when daily life was very different from that of the present – or housing build according to standards from that time. Much of the existing housing dates from a time when family structures were different; when transportation, leisure, the patterns of daily life and culture of living together under the same roof were markedly different from life today. The housings unchangeable, and often highly partitioned, internal plans are from a time past and often do not represent or accommodate contemporary lifestyles.
Our lack of means to fundamentally change the overall structure of existing housing calls for flexible, affordable and easy systems that can change our homes in response to new and contemporary needs.
SOFTWALL:
Softwall is all about design in the traditional sense. It brings an innovative solution to normal living problems. It uses materials in a new way and allows the user to adapt their environment to different configurations reflecting different conditions. The design of Softwall seeks to answer the need for a flexible interior system and is based on the ancient art of folding paper, taken to new levels. By developing this technique the two designers have created a simple and poetic solution of how to establish flexible definitions of space in contemporary homes and offices and public spaces.
When stored, Softwall takes up as little space as 1m X 30cm X 6cm, thereby eliminating the storage problems of existing systems. At the same time Softwall - without the use of tools - can easily be expanded and installed as a wall up to 7.5 meters in length, curved in any way desired by its users. Furthermore, Softwall is modular, as the felt ends with velcro fasteners can be used to link any number of walls in series.
Softwall embodies a humane combination of scale, structure, design and materials. It is easy to position and change. It is lightweight, translucent, absorbs both light and sound and is 100% recyclable.
Softwall is an example of excellent contemporary design, building on tradition and holding the promise to renew the way we think about established definitions of space by offering flexible partitioning within our homes, offices or public spaces.
The INDEX: AWARD jury also wishes to compliment the members of the recently established design company molo and their co-operation with various contractors for being role models to young designers. Their entrepreneurship has enabled them to bring their unique design ideas to life.
As a final point observation - the jury would like to stress their wish to see a version, now being developed for application in situations of homeless people brought to market.
WORK:
OBSERVATORIO IBEROAMERICANO PARA LA ARTESANÍA Y LA PEQUEÑA INDUSTRIA MANUFACTURERA
The award is given to: The web-based information system and the underlying strategy and network.
The award will be received by: Director of the foundation Mercedes Valcárcel
Name of Designer(s): Fundación Española para la Innovación de la Artesanía, and the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce in Spain.
Designers professional status: Other
Status of realization: Realized
Kind of design: Intangible – website, strategy and network.
Year of production, realization or publishing: 2001
Designed in country: Spain
Used on continents: Spanish speaking world.
Link: http: //www.fundesarte.org/
QUESTION
How can we improve the lives of Latin American craftsmen?
BACKGROUND
Almost 40 million people in the Iberian world depend on jobs connected to original craftsmanship and smaller craft industries and micro companies. Many of these crafts and production skills are dying out.
MOTIVATION
Can a website, a network and a strategy be design? Yes – seen by the INDEX: Jury.
When judges declare that something is a great example of “Design To Improve Life”, they may be referring to a manufactured object like the Softwall or the LifeStraw, or they may be referring to the process that created it -- or to both together. They may be judging product or process – or both – when they look at less tangible productions, like a communication, an experience, a strategy, an environment or a public sector program. The foundation for development of the craft sector encompasses all of these not-usually-thought-of-as-design attributes.
Observatorio utilized a website to connect craftsmen to potential users and markets. The design of the website, the underlaying strategy and its utilization is an excellent example of contemporary design.
The Spanish based Fundación Española para la Innovación de la Artesanía (Fundestarte) established a web-based information system to focus on two main activities in Latin America: improving networking among craftsmen in different countries and teaching them new developments relevant to their work through tailor-made activities. With this objective, the Fundestarte works with craftsmen on research into new design methods, information transfer, data bases, networks, specialised information, technological development, design, product development, quality, product certification and access to new markets.
INDEX: international jury wishes to award the design of the web-based information system used for knowledge sharing and the underlying strategy and network of Fundestarte, which demonstrates that new intangible design products – in this case a government strategic plan – can successfully be implemented in a whole region.
Based on knowledge of users, Fundestarte addresses the real needs of innumerable people depending on craft and micro companies in Latin America and supports their knowledge sharing and their access to a better life through access to new markets, new ideas, new technologies and new design methods. At the same time Fundestarte gives designers and companies from the developed world easy access to co-operation with traditional craftspeople.
Since 1982 the Foundation has trained thousands of Spanish and Latin American craftsmen, has promoted their sector, defined development programs and followed up their implementation as authentic initiatives to improve people’s lives. The model established by Fundestarte shows the potential to be implemented in other countries with a similar profile to the Latin American ones.
All though established in the eighties, Fundestarte is in constant development. It is for this continuous evolution expressed in this new web-based information and dissemination system that the award is presented.
PLAY:
i-POD AND i-TUNES
The award is giving to: The combination of iPod and iTunes
The award will be received by:
Name of Designer(s): Apple design Team
Designers professional status: Professional
Status of realization: Realized
Kind of design: Tangible and intangible
Produced by: Apple
Year of production, realization or publishing: 2002
Designed in country: United States
Used on continents: Entire World
Links: http://www.ipod.com http://www.itunes.com
QUESTION:
How do we experience and share music – and how do we handle intellectual property rights on the Internet?
BACKGROUND:
The challenges of controlling intellectual property rights have exploded with the growth of the Internet, where books, music and art, video and films are accessible for millions of people around the world. Content piracy is a worldwide epidemic. Free file-sharing communities like Napster and Grokster have led to major lawsuits by the big media companies as well as the absurdity of government agents arresting college students for downloadiing free files in their dorm rooms.
Corporations, artists, scientists and governments are all struggling to come up with viable solutions. In the youth-culture and music arena, where the problem became most acute, Apple devised a solution that is as noteworthy for the ingenuity of its business model as it is for the high design “coolness” of the product.
MOTIVATION
With the introduction of iPod and iTunes, Apple offers a solution that pleases artists, media distributors and customers. It has been an instant and huge hit worldwide, a true cultural phenomenon.
An iPod is as essential a personal life accessory today as one’s cell phone. Wearing your iPod is globally symbolic of youth-culture lifestyle. iPod already has been recognized by design awards around the world. The product is chic, totally cool, very well engineered and designed and its standard-setting, elegant user interface has becom a benchmark in its class.
The product was designed in classic Apple fashion, from the outside in. Based on extrensive design research, Apple had a vision of what the player should be from the point of view of the user. The subsequent design parameters were dictated by its appearance, form factor and user interface. The design of iPod and iTunes raises the standard of excellence for all design. Yet, the super-cool industrial design and user interface design are not the most significant things about iPod and its online companion iTunes Music Store
Together iPod and iTunes challenges the whole audio industry by creating a completely new business model that resolves the decade-long battle between the music industry and the on-line file sharing community. And this may set a precedent for the video industry as well.
The introduction of free, peer-to-peer music file sharing by Napster in the mid-1990s set off bitter legal battles with music performers and distributors over intellectual property rights. The resulting lawsuits ended with the courts shutting down Napster. iPod resolved many of those problems and today iPod downloaders happily pay 99 cents per tune, improving life for users, performers, and distributors alike.
Furthermore a huge aftermarket has emerged for iPod. The iPod platform continues to expand down-market to the iPod Mini and the super small Shuffle, and up-market to the iPod Photo(and soon to a likely iPod/cell phone)The design has also given rise to new cultural phenomena like pod casting and energized the music and accessories industries, thus creating innumerable new jobs around the world.
The winning design apparently offers unlimited possibilities of improvement for different people, of which the following should be mentioned.
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iPod and iTunes enable users to create and broadcast their own radioshows or pod-casts, thereby further democratizing access to media channels.
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iPod is a potential tool for educational purposes. For example Duke University – a prestigous institution in the USA - initiated an experiment by giving an iPod to each entering freshman to use for recording, organizing, and sharing class lecture material.
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iPod and iTunes not only enable people to listen to music –books can also be downloaded - having the potential of spreading literature more widely around the world, particularly among young people, who tend to prefer electronic media to reading books .
COMMUNITY
SIYATHEMBA – THE FIELD OF HOPE
The award is given to: The design competition and the resulting project.
The award will be received by: Director of Architecture for Humanity
The award will be given to the design of the competition and underlying strategy of involving the international community of designers and architects in problem-solving around the world.
Designers: The Architecture for Humanity team (among others the founder of the organisation,
Designers professional status: Professional
Status of realization: Realized
Kind of design: Intangible design
Year of production, realization or publishing: 2004
Designed in country: United States
Used on continents: Entire World
Links: www.architectureforhumanity.org
QUESTION:
How to raise awareness on social issues among designers and architects around the world?
BACKGROUND
Somkhele, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa has one of the highest rates of death from HIV/AIDS in the world, with South Africa's Medical Research Council estimating that HIV/AIDS accounts for 42% of all deaths in this region. In spite of the ghastly figures, people infected with AIDS in the area are still stigmatized and the need for proper health-care facilities and places of information and education are in high demand.
MOTIVATION
The Community Award goes to yet an example of the not-usually-thought-of-as-design designs.
Actually the award is giving to the design of a competition/a network – and the result of the same competition.
Design should be socially responsible as often as possible – and this project is an excellent example of that.
By launching the Siyathemba competition in 2004 Architects for Humanity implemented a whole new strategy on how to raise awareness on social issues among architects and designers around the world. Furthermore, the winning football proposal holds the potential to create huge life improvements for a powerless and disadvantaged group of youngsters.
The Siyathemba competition challenged designers and architects to incorporate the game of football a programme geared to disseminating information on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and eventually as a service point for mobile healthcare for youth in Somkhele.
300 teams from 37 countries took part in the competition. An international jury selected nine finalists whose schemes were displayed in schools and health centres throughout the area. Somkhele community members, including students, youth football players, nurses and teachers, then selected the winning design, created by Mr.Ng.
The winning design creates a meeting place in a globally acknowledged and attractive form where sufferers of HIV/AIDS can be educated and treated without being stigmatized.
The solution thereby offers a possibility of breaking through social barriers – under the auspices of the universal game of football.
The INDEX: jury awards the Community award 2005 to Architects for Humanity and urges the organisation to pursue the strategy represented in The Siyathemba competition with the objective of involving the international community of architects and designers in solving urgent problems around the world.
