Hasta La Ideas

Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Designer: Pengtao Yu
Location: Pasadena, CA, USA
Category: Products/Equipment and Design for Social Impact
Award: Student Winner, Runner-Up, Notable

Pengtao is a unique winner in the awards program. His projects earned multiple honors in two categories:

• U-Haul Emergency Response Conversion Kit, Student Winner for Products/Equipment
• U-Haul Emergency Response Conversion Kit, Student Notable for Design for Social Impact
• Tea-Time, Student Runner-Up for Products/Equipment
• Always Fresh Water Container, Student Runner-Up for Products/Equipment

U-Haul Emergency Response Conversion Kit

A conversion kit designed for American Red Cross that quickly converts a U-Haul rental truck into temporary Emergency Response Vehicle when a catastrophe happens. The converted vehicle can be used on disaster relief operations to provide stationary feedings and distribution of food and water.

This project was from an education partnership between Art Center College of Design and American Red Cross (ARC). ARC came to us last fall simply asked us to redesign their Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) since they are about to renew their fleet. I started the project by talking to the volunteers who works on ERVs, talking to ARC staff who maintain the fleet, visiting the ARC operation centers, observing the EVR in a mission at a shelter and visiting a ERV manufacturer. Based on the thorough understanding of all the needs from these stakeholders, I realized that what they need might not be a new vehicle but only something that gives them the ability to bring food to the victims after a major disaster. Therefore I came up the U-haul Conversion Kit idea along with other two ideas. Then I presented these solutions to ARC’s executives, staff and volunteers. The U-Haul Conversion Kit idea was extremely well received. Therefore, I chose the concept and further developed it.

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Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Designer: fuseproject – Yves Behar with Gabe Lamb
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Category: Products/Equipment
Award: Notable

Jawbone JAMBOX

The JAMBOX is a revolutionary Bluetooth, wireless audio speaker and full duplex speakerphone with the latest noise-canceling Jawbone technology. A chic, portable, audio powerhouse, it is revolutionizing the Bluetooth audio speaker segment, allowing users to express themselves and their lifestyle with a compelling package of compact technology and iconic design.

We took the opportunity to rethink what an audio speaker was and should be; from aesthetics to functionality, we redesigned everything. For example, on traditional speakers, it is clearly indicated where the sound comes from, either through texture or orientation. With the JAMBOX’s innovative wrap-around grill, there is no real indication as to where the premium audio is coming from, adding to the product’s intrigue and impact.

Additionally, we wanted to differentiate the design of this from others in the category, by creating options and opportunities for a lifestyle product. Most speakers have a specific look, and a traditional monochromatic color palette. They face one direction, and aesthetically ignore the other. Not so with the Jambox. The challenge here was to break that mold, and offer a product that was iconic and innovative in ways other products don’t consider.

Core77: What’s the latest news or development with your project?

As the world’s first intelligent wireless speaker, the JAMBOX is continually evolving and getting smarter! Along with new apps and updates coming from Jawbone’s software platform, MyTalk, there are some exciting new hardware offerings as well. The Apple Edition, with a gold metal grill and grey rubber accents, is available exclusively at Apple retail locations.

What is one quick anecdote about your project?

Music is so personal for people; it is deeply connected to emotion and experience. As an outlet for that, we wanted Jambox to be equally expressive. This is what led to texturing the grill on all sides (in addition to adding structure), using color, and shockproof materials to launch with 4 Jambox versions each with their own character. But it was after the initial launch that we really started to learn how far this could go. Because you can peel off the rubber top and bottom caps off like a tupperware lid, people started to mix and match and customize their speakers, and we began to get requests for limited editions. From an extremely limited run in green for Cool Hunting, to a machined Maple wood version for Wallpaper Magazine, to a custom Gold and Charcoal edition for Apple Stores, Jambox has taken on a personality beyond the original design. We’ve seen people mount them to bikes, wear them around their necks, and in Milan earlier this year we built a roomful of furniture out of them for an exhibit we named JAMSCAPE. We have more plans for the speaker, but it’s been just as much fun to see the unplanned uses and places Jambox ends up in.

Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.

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Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Designer: Greg Katz and Tom Rim
Location: Deerfield, Illinois, USA
Category: Design for Social Impact
Award: Student Winner

Gobug

Gobug is an interactive toy designed to facilitate an inclusive social learning experience for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, individuals of all ages and abilities are welcome to join, play, and learn.

The initial stages of design provided us loads of ideas. We held brainstorming sessions where we “let concepts fly.” Some ideas were worth further exploration while others were held back. During the same time period, we researched the user. It was important to have an understanding of who we were designing for. These activities were continued for a good portion of time to insure a solid platform to work from.

A lot of our user research was performed on an indirect level. We spoke with occupational therapists and read numerous blogs and articles from research databases. We also took advantage of the Core77 Design Arena for the Autism Connects competition. Through this web forum, designers were constantly given feedback for their work from experts in the field of ASD. We took note of these comments and applied bits of information accordingly.

The next stages involved a constant flow of sketching. We narrowed our concepts down to one and began to sketch again. We performed various iterations on the products function; mainly how the user would interact with product and the other users. We also produced loads of concept art dealing with aesthetics and forms.

In a similar time period, we mapped out scenarios in which the toy would be used. Specifically, we used storyboards to present outcomes. This helped us gain a grasp for what would work and what wouldn’t. It also helped us refine our concept into a more tangible and purposeful idea.

From here, we took our concept into CAD and produced a design that best represented our sketch developments and concept art.

Core77: What’s the latest news or development with your project?

We are always looking for new opportunities. Gobug has great potential to make a difference in many children’s lives. We would love to see it go from concept to full development. There’s much work to be done, but the positives that can arise are endless.

What is one quick anecdote about your project?

There was one particular “eureka moment.” We spent time talking to and Occupational Therapist. She mentioned how children with ASD responded really well to a product called the Zoom Ball. This is super simple toy; a football shaped ball threaded with two ropes each with handles tethered to their ends. In short, users pick up the handles and guide them to make the ball move back and forth. Children with ASD have to work together and watch each others body language to play with the toy. We took the fundamental principles of the Zoom Ball and re-imagined them into something with a more modern, innovative and versatile twist. Gobug was the outcome.

Gobug is ultimately designed to be a fun experience, one where everyone is invited. Every individual is unique. We all have certain talents and certain challenges, and we all come in different shapes and sizes. One of the best ways to learn about and understand each other is through inclusive activity.

Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.

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Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Designer: RKS Design Team
Location: Thousand Oaks, California, USA
Category: Never Saw the Light of Day
Award: Winner

LaundryPOD

The LaundryPOD provides eco-conscious innovation to save energy, water and answer the need for a quick, easy, and environmental friendly way to wash small loads. It is a portable, hand-powered laundry machine to clean wash and spin dry laundry, providing a solution for developed as well as emerging markets.

While re-engineering and re-designing a salad spinner as part of our new design of Zyliss kitchen products, we learned resourceful women were buying salad spinners to wash their delicates. This sparked the idea that the salad spinner technology we innovated could be used to create a portable, hand-powered laundry machine that would be far more appropriate for the task. Designers instantly saw the potential and many could instantly relate to laundry challenges that a small, portable, convenient and inexpensive solution might deliver.
The design team was very excited to work on something unique and on a project that clearly held potential to help kindred spirits – college students, apartment/studio dwellers. The team was also excited that the endeavor had potential to save considerable water and energy associated with washing, as well as the inconveniences associated with laundry in the developed world.

“Great ideas sometimes materialize and sometimes they don’t. We have to live for the process and creative expression of our ideas.”
–Ravi Sawhney, CEO

Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.

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Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Designers: Dennis Chan, Maggie de la Vega, Jo Glenny, and Tucker Kobylski
Location: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Category: Strategy/Research
Award: Student Notable

Designing Innovation Diffusion

Innovation is recognized as a critical factor required to succeed and sustain a competitive advantage. A research study was initiated to identify the challenges and best practices of organizations that continuously diffuse innovation throughout organizations. Research data was collected, analyzed, and used to design a seven phase diffusion approach.

The framework was designed as an adaptable approach to be used in a wide range of organizations, from non-profits, small business, to Fortune 500 companies, across a myriad of specialties (manufacturing, transportation, education, and tech). Therefore, the research study focused on both secondary and primary sources of information, while targeting the insights of professionals within organizations in the industries of product and service innovation. This took us to corporations and consultancies to better understand the barriers and best practices of these organizations. The consultancies focused on the areas of: architecture, digital interaction, infrastructure, innovation, and product development. The corporations were in the following industries: consumer health, global restaurant chain, transportation, and web development.

Core77: What’s the latest news or development with your project?

We are currently pursuing further professional feedback and brainstorming ways to test the Seven Phase Diffusion Approach.

Would you tell us a little about developing your project?

Saving Grace: We were lucky enough to have our work sessions at night in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Walking the halls at midnight in one of the most incredible museums in the world served as a perfect reset button. We could walk away, lose ourselves, and then get back to the grind refreshed.

Humorous Anecdote: Learning that one of the team members was 4 months pregnant a week before the thesis presentation

Lesson Learned: Transcripts – Good experience but don’t do it. Pay someone.

Grateful For: Technology is pretty amazing to allow the 4 of us to work remotely in 4 parts of the continent.

Greatest Challenge: Time….when you work full time and two of the four team members commute to school (one from another state, one from another country), not to mention handling all extras that life throws at you, the ability to manage our time became an art form. We thank all of those who supported us through it all.

Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.

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