HEALTH-CARE COMMUNICATION TOOLS<\/strong> Located on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, Kibera is the largest urban slum in Africa, with close to one million inhabitants. Families of eight or more crowd into dwellings of 12 square feet. Much of\u00a0the ground is covered in trash. An utter lack of drainage leaves pools of standing water everywhere that quickly become infested, providing fertile breeding grounds for mosquitos. Malaria is epidemic. There is also widespread distrust of international aid organizations and clinics.<\/p>\n A collaboration between researchers from Kent State University and an on-site NGOs, this project consists of a series of icon-based visual designs to communicate essential information about malaria treatment and prevention, and to promote the practice of safe sanitary habits in Kibera. Relying primarily on images and with minimal text, the campaign highlights the causes and spread of malaria, its common symptoms, and treatment options. It also features an array of tools\u2014including board games\u2014to help educate Kibera\u2019s schoolchildren. \u201cWe tried to provide visuals that fit within their culture,\u201d says graduate student Andrew Schwanbeck, citing the high level of illiteracy in Kibera. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want just another Westernized design solution.\u201d<\/p>\n NIKE CITRUS<\/strong> Creating attractive but affordable products for niche markets such as the blind can be difficult. There are problems of both design and scale. Products for the seeing-impaired have functional parameters that can evoke stigma or separation. And the market is simply too small to keep unit prices low. Rynkiewicz tackled both issues with Citrus, a robust sport watch conceived for use by the blind but stylish enough to appeal to\u00a0a broader market. The watch\u2019s slotted concave face allows users to tell time through the sense of touch. Its spiraling stretch-rubber polymer band fits all wrist sizes\u2014and evokes a carefully removed orange peel.<\/p>\n Satellite technology and one-touch function lets users sync the watch to local time anywhere on the planet. The designer even suggests a marketing campaign whereby sport-watch customers might buy one Citrus for themselves, and a second that would be donated to the American Federation for the Blind. \u201cAmericans are some of the most charitable people in the world,\u201d says Rynkiewicz, who studied industrial design\u00a0at the Columbus College of Art and Design. \u201cThis product taps into that desire to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n MyRA<\/strong> Approximately 1.3 million Americans (and about two percent of the global population) suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. RA requires ongoing treatment, and patients often fill out self-assessment questionnaires before doctors\u2019 visits. Yet even patients who see their doctors regularly have difficulty providing an accurate report of their symptoms to their physicians. This lack of information makes it difficult for doctors to monitor the progression of the disease and the effect of medications, making treatment less effective.<\/p>\n MyRA is an iPhone app that helps people with RA chart their symptoms and share information with their doctors. \u201cCreating an app for users with joint pain presented unique challenges,\u201d says Miller, a design consultant in the Bay Area. \u201cPatients reported that certain gestures were more difficult than others, like pinching to zoom, or drag and drop. So we decided to use only single taps and scrolling.\u201d With the app, patients can monitor and record joint pain, stiffness, medication routines, and lab results, and track household activities. These data in turn generate graphs and other mapping devices that can chart the patient\u2019s progress and help physicians devise individual treatment plans. MyRA\u00a0is currently available free on the iTunes App Store.<\/p>\n ReMOTION KNEE<\/strong> There are many existing solutions for amputees looking to recover mobility and function after the partial loss\u00a0of a leg. Unfortunately, these solutions can cost more than $1,000\u2014well out of reach of the millions of amputees worldwide who live on $4 a day or less, and who often rely on rigid bamboo staffs, or shoddy devices that use cheap, available substitutes such as a door hinge\u00a0as a stand-in for a functional knee joint.<\/p>\n ReMotion is a high-performance prosthesis designed\u00a0for amputees in low-resource regions. It enables users to perform tasks including kneeling, running, and riding a bicycle. In a pilot program with the JaipurFoot Clinic, ReMotion fitted more than 4,600 amputees. Its retail price of $80 is achieved through central manufacturing; outsourced warehousing, packaging, and delivery; and direct sales through existing low-cost international clinics, where users can be fitted for the device by trained technicians.<\/p>\n HEADS UP<\/strong> Living with tetraplegia\u2014partial or complete paralysis of all limbs and torso\u2014is difficult physically, emotionally, and even socially. A paralyzed person draws eyes whenever he or she enters a room, or is hoisted, along with wheelchair, into a car, bus, or train. Current wheelchair-control systems, which are mounted directly in the user\u2019s sight and often conceal the face and mouth, only exacerbate the already-distancing stigma.<\/p>\n Heads Up is a wheelchair-control system integrated into the chair\u2019s head support. The chair\u2019s designers came upon the project through their association with the Center for Health Technology at the University\u00a0of Antwerp in Belgium. Form-fitted to the user\u2019s head, the chair\u2019s head support control is intuitive and easily learned: the chair turns along HORTI-COMMUNITY<\/strong> According to government surveys, 21 percent of Japan\u2019s population is 65 years or older. That number will grow to 39.9 percent by 2060\u2014or one out of every 2.5 people. Japan\u2019s seniors will need activities and opportunities to remain healthy, to lead productive lives, and to avoid overloading their country\u2019s already-strained social service network.<\/p>\n Gardening is a popular and positive activity for Japan\u2019s seniors, promoting health, community, and a sense of purpose. But Tokyo is one of the world\u2019s most densely built cities: open space comprises just five percent of the total land use. However, the city\u2019s rooftops offer an ideal venue for outdoor gardens. During warm seasons, senior gardens will produce vegetables for neighborhood farmers\u2019 markets. During winter, they will provide gathering space for other activities. In addition, the rooftop gardens will drastically reduce Tokyo\u2019s urban heat\u00a0island effect, and help conserve energy.<\/p>\n AXIS<\/strong> As recently as a decade ago, foot or leg amputees considered themselves fortunate if they could walk or run. But a new generation of amputees aspires to a higher level of activity, and wants prosthetics that allow surfing, dancing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. \u201cPeople who have had an amputation want to return to a normal lifestyle without limitations,\u201d says Timothy Seward, a former competitive downhill skateboarder who has worn various prosthetic feet over the past 20 years. \u201cBut the lack\u00a0of innovation in prosthetic design makes that difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike traditional prosthetic feet, Seward\u2019s multi-axial ankle allows\u00a0for a full range of motion\u2014mimicking the biomechanical function of a real ankle. Built of a standard ball joint with urethane bushing and straps acting as tendons, the artificial ankle not only bends and twists like the real thing, but returns to a neutral position when pressure is lifted.\ufffc<\/p>\n X-FINGER<\/strong> Finger loss makes up approximately 94 percent of all non-fatal amputations. It can be caused by circulatory problems, machinery and power tools, war, and even adverse reactions to medication. The loss of hand function has a disproportionate effect on\u00a0a person\u2019s productivity and welfare; individuals with limited\u00a0use of their hands earn approximately 50 percent less than their fully abled counterparts.<\/p>\n While latex and silicone fingers can fill the space, they do\u00a0not restore the finger\u2019s function. Creator Daniel Didrick\u2019s prosthetic system uses a series of interchangeable titanium and surgical stainless-steel components that can be assembled\u00a0into more than 600 configurations to restore hand and finger function following a broad variety of injuries. \u201cThis device does not require batteries or motors,\u201d says Didrick, who recently developed a device enabling a professional pianist\u00a0to return to the keyboard. \u201cIt could have been produced hundreds of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n COMFIT<\/strong> Comfit is a crutch intended for patients dealing with temporary injuries. Sleek and almost spare, the crutch offers high-level performance at an affordable price, and provides enhanced stability while reducing injury and inflammation. Comfit\u2019s injection-plastic frame and fiberglass arc absorb excess impact from the ground. Its end tip maintains contact with the ground throughout the walking stride. Its shoulder strap reduces underarm chafing. And unlike conventional crutches, Comfit\u2019s front-facing hand rest keeps the user\u2019s hand in a natural position, reducing muscle and tendon strain.<\/p>\n While he never suffered an injury requiring crutches, designer Alain Tsai used standard crutches for several days as part of his research.\u00a0\u201cI tried to create a form that was as clean as possible,\u201d says Tsai, now\u00a0a product design major at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. \u201cAs minimalist as possible, where form would follow function. And at a price where it could be sold at local pharmacies.\u201d<\/p>\n ESPOIR<\/strong> About two years ago, Yoony Byun watched a documentary on Cambodia\u2019s young landmine victims. \u201cI was shocked to learn that so many children were still losing limbs from unexploded mines left over from a war in\u00a0the 1970s,\u201d says Byun, a product design student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In an industrialized country, child amputees would be refitted for a prosthetic device every six to 12 months to accommodate growth. In Cambodia, these children count themselves fortunate to have a single prosthetic patched together from recycled bicycle parts.<\/p>\n Espoir is a user-adjustable prosthetic that child landmine victims can use throughout their youth\u2014vital in a country where students regularly walk three to six miles a day to attend school.<\/p>\n The project begins with a marketing campaign inviting consumers to return their used Espoir athletic shoes to the manufacturers. Shoe materials are then repurposed for the prosthesis, with uppers forming the socket support, and soles refashioned into two interchangeable foot options: one suitable for work in rice paddies, and a second for walking on dirt roads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Runners-up: A new generation of designers takes on an ambitious set of pressing social challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":15825,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_image_focal_point":[],"legacy_WP_ID":null},"tags":[485,136,484,434,316,117,486],"metro_tax_domain":[],"metro_tax_topic":[],"metro_tax_program":[],"metro_issue":[],"metro_cat_viewpoint":[],"internal_flag":[],"class_list":["post-61640","metro_viewpoint","type-metro_viewpoint","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ada","tag-aging","tag-baby-boomers","tag-competition","tag-next-generation-design-competition","tag-round-up","tag-universal-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nKent State University School of\u00a0Visual Communication Design: Kibera, Nairobi<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203630\/b96570acadc735780e0c24579bb0dc2b-health-care-communication-tools.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Andrew Schwanbeck<\/h4>\n
\nJake Rynkiewicz: Global<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203630\/5c87bddf1106f016b6275d242936b399-nike-citrus.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Jake Rynkiewicz<\/h4>\n
\nJessica Miller: Global<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203631\/a022f2625fe7ae1232d9b8ddea8684ad-myra-app.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Jessica Miller<\/h4>\n
\nVinesh Narayan: Jaipur, India<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203631\/bf8cd8c2a4c916a7adb098c837f4fd82-remotion-knee.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Vinesh Narayan<\/h4>\n
\nVincent De Smedt\/Edmire: Global<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203631\/69943e45865c687f9bbf47aec9d6d4b3-heads-up.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Vincent de Smedt<\/h4>\n
\nwith the user\u2019s head. A tactile function switch\u2014which also doubles\u00a0as a microphone for advanced control\u2014enables the user to switch chair functions, shifting, for example, from forward to reverse, or to modify seat and comfort settings.<\/p>\n
\nAkira Nakamura, Arta Yazdanseta, and\u00a0Nozomi Kanemitsu: Tokyo<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203632\/48139af153e4479c457357d85e785cc1-horti-community.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Akira Nakamura<\/h4>\n
\nTimothy Seward: Global<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203632\/74aa0a019d2ca1db9ad4c74bb8df66d5-axis.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Timothy Seward<\/h4>\n
\nDaniel Didrick: Global<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203632\/0157083a3c430af8fbdeb8f72beabdee-x-finger.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Daniel Didrick<\/h4>\n
\nAlain Tsai: Global<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203633\/ead603dc9dd0cfd16b34359421b92c6f-comfit.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Alain Tsai<\/h4>\n
\nYoony Byun: Cambodia<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sdg-migration-met.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/12203633\/08a942d65b83de5146a19999c90ae036-espoir.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCourtesy Yoony Byun<\/h4>\n