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Image: Nina Birchard’s Resusci Toweldesigned to help resuscitates newborn babies
is one of the innovations that will be unveiled at Degree Show
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- Product Design Engineering students reveal products addressing key issues in the 21stcentury hospital, home and workplace
- Designs will be on show in Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Cambridge
Students graduating from The Glasgow School of Art’s acclaimed Product Design Engineering department will unveil a wide array of innovative designs at Degree Show this weekend before taking them on tour to Birmingham, London and Cambridge. This is the latest cohort of students following the programme that has produced leading international designers including Jonathan Biddle,– Industrial Design Senior Manager, Amazon; Amy Corbett, Senor Designer – Lego; Etienne Iliffe-Moon, Director of Industrial Design (San Francisco) for BMW; Scott McGuire, RDD Manager, Dyson; and Sam Smith, Design Lead, Apple.
Ranging from a design by Nina Birchard to help with new-born resuscitation and an over-bed hospital table designed by Emily Breen specifically for use in paediatric wards to a toy by Fara Stringfellow to encourage children to take breaks during continuous periods of screen time, a new design for public drinking fountains by Anna Robb, DuncanPattullo’s Fibre Optic fabrics for Cycle Clothing and Tom Lever’s seating design for Hyperloop (the visionary city-to-city travel system) the designs offer creative solutions to issues facing both today’s society and tomorrow’s world.
Working with specialists and end-users the designs are created specifically to respond to real-life scenarios. Many PDE graduates have gone on to set up award-winning companies, a number of which were founded on the success of projects that were developed whilst at GSA and showcased in Degree Show.
For full information on the designs see Notes for Editors
See the PDE designs in the Reid Building, 167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3 at 2019 Degree Show from 1-9 June and then in Birmingham (10 June Autodesk HQ Small Heath Business Park, Talbot Way, B10 0HJ), London (June 11 Our/London Vodka Arch 435 & 436, Spurstowe Rd, Hackney Downs E8 1LS) and Cambridge (June 12 – Trinity Centre 24 Cambridge Science Park, CB4 0FN).
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For further information, images and interview contact:
Lesley Booth
07799414474
Notes for Editors
- The Product Design Engineering programme is jointly delivered by The Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow University. It was established by designer and former Director of the GSA, Professor Dugald Cameron.
Innovations for health and care
Image: Emily Breen’s Sidekickoverbed activity table designed especially for paediatric wards
Nina Birchard has focussed on resuscitation for new-born babies. Each year, 6 million babies struggle to breathe at birth and need new-born resuscitation. A major challenge in the procedure is ensuring that the baby’s airways are open, and this involves careful head positioning. “Through user research, I learned that this position can be achieved by placing a rolled cloth or nappy beneath the baby’s shoulders. However, preparing the roll takes time and is not encouraged for less experienced health professionals,”explains Nina. “My design, The Resusci Towel, helps to facilitate head positioning for sustained open airways.” The Resusci Towel has an inflatable shoulder support which can be quickly and easily adjusted to accommodate all babies. It also includes an instant heat pack to prevent hypothermia in the non-specialist birth environment. The towel is printed with simple instructions to guide the user through the procedure.
Emily Breen has turned her attention to children who are confined to bed for weeks on end in hospitals. Her Sidekick overbed activity table has been developed especially for paediatric wards. Immobilised in bed, forced to lie flat on their backs for several days, weeks or even months at a time, children are often unable to do much more than stare at the ceiling. “Play is an integral part of a child’s recovery, but these patients have an incredibly limited access to such activities which significantly affects their quality of life,”says Emily. The Sidekick overbed hospital table was designed specifically for use in paediatric wards. Split into two table tops, the larger of which can be raised and rotated to reveal an activity surface on the underside which has interchangeable boards with different surfaces facilitating a range of play activities, it is suitable for patients of all ages and physical capabilities. The design offers a new approach to hospital furniture, designed specifically with children in mind.
Christiane Walkerhas addressed another important medical issue facing hundreds of thousands of children in the UK. Her design, Sole Support, is a system that makes it possible to make customised insoles for shoes at home. “Custom orthotic insoles are an essential part of daily life for 600,000 children in the UK, providing comfort and correction for medical gait conditions,” explains Christiane. “However, whilst these insoles are custom made to fit the child’s foot and their specific needs, there can often be a lot of pain, cost, time and embarrassment associated with the poor fit of these devices in standard shoe styles.” Christiane’s Sole Support is a home casting system that means parents can quickly and easily create custom orthotic insoles for their children, which fit perfectly inside the chosen pair of shoes. The system, which has three core features – silicone putty, a 3D printed custom foot last which acts as the mould for the insole and a pine alignment handle – is, as Christiana says “designed to be as quick, simple and fool-proof as an at home baking kit.”
At the other end of the age spectrum, Rebecca Hunterhas looked at the issue of personalised care. Her design – Remat – is a monitoring mat to help rehabilitation for the elderly. Remat offers a passive method of data collection in the home which can be used to give an insight into general mobility levels over time. By using this data, Physiotherapists are able to improve and individualise their practise, drawing on reliable information about how the patient is progressing or responding to interventions.“A one-size-fits-all approach to caring for the elderly cannot meet the increasing complexity and expectations of this group. By focussing on an individual’s own strengths and needs, a healthcare model can be developed to empower patients to take greater control over their condition,”says Rebecca. “Implementation of technology and data collection are paramount in driving forwards this individualised healthcare model.”
Sarah Daviesinvestigated Sleep Apnoea and developed IOTA (Intra Oral Tongue Advancement) a medical product to help counteract the effects of the condition.
Sleep Apnoea is a condition whereby the throat collapses during sleep. Physiological mechanisms include the retraction of the tongue and soft palate into the back of throat. It affects 1.5 million people with 85% of people left undiagnosed. “IOTA uses mild electrical stimulation of the genioglossus muscle under the tongue to invoke contraction of the tongue during sleep,”explains Sarah. “This advances the tongue downwards and forwards in order to keep an open upper airway. It is a non-invasive, portable and affordable treatment alternative to the current CPAP device which is uncomfortable, cumbersome and expensive.”
Looking to the future
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| Image: Tom Lever’s innovation looks at the future of transport and the design of seating in state-of-the-art Hyperloop technology |
Tom Lever’s innovation looks at the future of transport and the design of seating in state-of-the-art Hyperloop technology. Hyperloop is a visionary future transportation concept proposed to connect large cities at speeds of up to 1, kmpm. To do this, passengers are seated in pods of small cross-sectional area which facilitates frequent departures from city centre terminals.
Tom’s proposed seating and interior concept responds to these conditions with a minimal and non-invasive form, thus freeing the majority of the upper interior volume. Importantly it has a reversible mechanism which has the potential to dramatically reduce the size and therefore cost of terminals.
The use of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer to create a lightweight structure also significantly reduces the transit energy footprint of the chair to only 30% of a comparable aluminium seat over a lifetime of 10-years.
Camelia Cumming’s project looks at the future of human space habitation, which will become more accessible with increasing private investment. her goal was to provide the refreshing and comforting experience of a daily shower for astronauts and tourists, with minimal maintenance. “Previous solutions have either been described as “a bit like camping”, or involved a lot of cleanup,” explains Camelia. “Major factors to consider were transport and integration with the spacecraft, safety regulations, human factors, and user experience. In the absence of gravity, surface tension causes water to stick to the surfaces it comes in contact with, instead of falling down into a drain.” Using a combination of mechanical scraping and vacuum suction, the EZ-G shower stall can be cleaned and dried in minutes, giving the users more time to get on with their busy schedules or go and enjoy the view.
Designs for sustainability and safety
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| Anna Robb has reimagined the drinking fountain in her Project Swivel |
With the increased focus on reducing our use of plastics traditional drinking fountains are making a comeback. Anna Robb has reimagined the drinking fountain in her Project Swivel. “Drinking fountains are an excellent solution to both environmental and health issues we face today,” says Anna. “Despite this, they are rarely seen on the streets of the UK and hygiene concerns were found to be a key barrier to their re-introduction.” In Project Swivel Anna aims to improve not only the user experience but also the perception of fountains through its unique feature which is both playful and functional. Swivelling the lid 180° reveals a clean side and automatically initiates the cleaning of the previously exposed surface. The design harnesses recent advancements in germicidal UV-C LEDs alongside rinsing with water to disinfect the drinking surface in just 35 seconds. Further, due to compatibility with various outer shell designs, the core fountain units can be installed modularly in a range of configurations and environments.
As we aim to reduce our carbon footprint more people are taking up cycling. Urban riding can be a round-the-clock activity, so clothing needs to be ready for anything. Duncan Pattullo has addressed this issue by constructing a jacket from panels of light emitting fibre optic fabric
“The integration of lighting into the jacket highlights the recognisable form of a cyclist to traffic approaching from all directions by illuminating the riders movements,” explains Duncan
“Safety isn’t just about visibility but also communication. Automatically activated as a rider raises their arm, bright amber panels enhance turn signals, drawing drivers attention to an instantly recognisable flashing indicator.”
Josh Hosking also looked at cycling in his project focussing on a design that looked at the personal relationship between rider and bike whilst increasing the sustainability of materials.
Holm bikes is a table top bicycle frame building system accessible to users with no previous practical experience. “Current frame building methods are expensive or require equipment and specialist skills,” explains Josh. “The Holm Bikes method allows for first time users to go from frame building ‘zero to hero’. Building the frame drastically changes the relationship a person has with their bicycle, encouraging people to continue to ride and maintain it.” The frames are constructed by wrapping a custom sized cardboard core with a flax fibre and resin composite. Flax fibre composites use around a twentieth of the energy that other composites use during their construction and can be entirely renewable. Flax makes excellent bicycle frames as it absorbs vibrations from bumpy city roads.
Work and leisure
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| Fara Stringfellow has created Eyetopia– a toy used to encourage children to take breaks during continuous periods of screen time |
It is predicted around 15% of the global population will change career in the next 10 years. With advancement in technology and automation, most jobs will be knowledge-focused and thus desk-based, which has encouraged new working styles. Christie Sherlock’s design was based on user-centered research which revealed a number of key issues associated with modern working initiatives. In particular: security – with introduction of GDPR -, resource management due to the gig economy and impersonality from hot-desking. The design – Project Agile – is stylish, agile partitions which encourage a mobile and adaptable workplace. “They bridge the gap between open and closed offices and allow employees to tailor the level of privacy needed to the task at hand, visibly and audibly,”explains Christie. “This is achieved through opaque acoustic slot-in sections. Bluetooth LEDs allow the user to build a more functional, pleasant working environment.”
Paula Brunner has looked at a very specific industry – wine making and in particular smaller wineries producing traditional method sparkling wine which cannot afford to automate the disgorging process. Manual disgorging is labour intensive, inefficient and expensive while posing health, safety and environmental risks. Paula’s Capsul is designed to improve the disgorgement process while maintaining high quality sparkling wine with artisanal value. “My product facilitates the removal of yeast without the loss of wine or pressure,” says Paula. “This reusable cap is an intuitive, simple design-centred product which facilitates the capture and removal of yeast following a second fermentation to present a clear sparkling wine. The benefits are reduced labour costs, reduced wine losses and improved health, safety and environmental outcomes.”
Colette Marshall has focussed at the home recording industry. Her aim was to reduce the complexity and cost involved in setting up a home-studio. Her design, RKORD, allows users to explore their musical creativity without investing a lot of time and money. “RKORD is an intuitive multitrack recorder designed to help musicians learn the basics of music production,”says Collette “Musicians can record up to eight individual looping tracks that layer together to create a song. The product features optional on-board microphones and speakers to allow musicians to simply switch on RKORD and starting recording – no “plugging-in” necessary.”
“Music is a universal language that can and should be enjoyed by anyone. RKORD brings the fun of making music to people who may have previously been intimidated by existing tools and gives them an opportunity to develop their skills and understanding.”
Recent years have seen a massive increase in screen-based leisure activities. The occurrence of nearsightedness in the US has increased 66% in 30 years with a correlation being drawn to longer times engaging in close focusing activities such as screen use. It is recommended that for every 20 minutes screen use you should take a 20 seconds break to prevent this damage.
Addressing this Fara Stringfellow has created Eyetopia– a toy used to encourage children to take breaks during continuous periods of screen time so as to help prevent this damage.
“Eyetopia contains a speaker, accelerometer, gyroscope, LED ring and buttons,” says Fara. “This allows for a series of motion style games for the user to play whilst giving minimal visual output: this encourages the user to divert their focus to further distances around the room.”
Many people love singing, especially when they hear their favourite tune or want to express their feelings and emotions through singing, or even just want to practice singing skills so as not to get embarrassed the next time at a karaoke party. “We don’t often get the chance to sing, especially if we are living in a domestic space like student accommodation where the walls are not well soundproofed,”explains Matthew Wong “So, if they sing out loud, your neighbour will be disturbed, or you will be embarrassed by your neighbour hearing your terrifying voice.”
Matthew proposes The Singer Space as a solution for the problem. The Singer Space is a directional sound reduction setup, which reduces the front 180-degree sound effectively, soften the voice as well as and creating more echoes for better hearing the vocal experience.
Wakeboarding is one of the fastest growing water sports with cable wakeboarding becoming a more popular alternative to classic boat riding. Cameron McMillan has taken this as the starting point for his design.Cable parks tend to comprise an overhead wire which tows the rider along the water and large plastic features that encourage users to learn different tricks. “It’s desirable for wake parks to change their obstacle configurations regularly to engage more customers,”explains Cameron, “but the reality is that current anchoring methods make the process of moving obstacles difficult and time consuming.” Cameron’s Park Project set out to increase the modularity of wake parks through design. The outcome is a novel anchoring solution that would mean parks could change their obstacle set-ups regularly, with minimal downtime.
Consumer
Adam Macdonald’s project – a non-analogue wristwatch – aims to give users something different and allow them to express their individuality. “The current market has become rather monotonous, and even with the wide variety of styles, there is little to tell them apart,” says Adam. “I found an opportunity to create a watch with a mechanical movement that displays the time in a way that isn’t analogue. The major factors were the legibility and size. When I was going through the design process, it was difficult to incorporate both factors but using a variety of mechanisms, the objective was eventually achieved. This new wristwatch provides something unique.”