Australian design, for a better future

The just-announced Good Design Award is the best way to learn about Australian design. The 62-year-old design award, while confusing by the same name as other countries’ design awards, is highly personalized in its definition of “good”. In addition to meeting basic needs, award-winning designs must also achieve both “innovation” and “impact”. In this particular year of 2020, the judges’ favourite works share the common goal of “making the world a better place”, which is also the microcosm of contemporary Australian design. This year’s most prestigious awards, design of the year and Patron of the Year, were awarded to outstanding technology in the medical field.

The winner of the Design of the Year award was the Nurochek brain function evaluation system from headsafe, a brain health technology company. Shaped like a virtual reality headset, this portable wearable device that can accommodate a wide range of head sizes can assess a patient’s brain health and potential condition in less than two minutes. This is a boon for teenagers and professional athletes who have experienced bumps or concussions for a long time. It measures brain reactions on the spot and transmits data to mobile phones, providing doctors with instant analysis that could avoid time-consuming clinical tests.

In addition, the system can detect brain damage from other related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), providing doctors with data. Health care providers will have long-term data and more comprehensive data comparison images for each patient, reducing disease ambiguity and repetitive testing. The design, from 4design Studios and LX Electronics Group, was seen by the judges as a well-designed product that “not only exceeded the highest standards, but also became a model of Australian ingenuity and talent.” ”

“ellume.lab” from Formzoo Studios is also a source of pride for Australian design. This is an instant diagnostic tool that effectively combines highly sensitive “disease-biomarker-fluorescence” technology with single-use “eStick” and handheld diagnostic “readers”. With this tool, flu testing can be reduced from four days to three minutes. In addition to providing more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment, it minimizes the spread of disease. The Internet product also allows home patients to use apps on their phones for testing, reducing the need to go out and making professional disease diagnosis and management easier and safer.

Compared with technology-oriented medical design, how can ordinary home design write on “innovation” and “influence”? When it comes to innovative technologies that can effectively improve lives, Expella Australia’s Milu is absolutely competitive. The design uses odor control (OCD), and any odor is immediately sucked away when flushed in the toilet and discharged directly from the sewer. This setting improves overall bathroom comfort and reduces the need for fresheners and harmful chemicals. Its form factor features a damping toilet seat and borderless design for easier flushing and cleaning. When it comes to ease, you have to mention spina, the newcomer in the Home Items category. The design, from Dreamfarm, combines a leaky spoon with a rotary drain. The most can give the user a “relaxed feeling” feature is that it can be placed directly in the sink, after washing fruits and vegetables, the handle can be pressed vertically, so that the leaking spoon immediately into a drain, and it is not as bulky as the traditional drain, telescopic handle is also convenient to collect.

In the industry’s most-watched seat design field, “light” seems to be the ultimate pursuit of designers. A stacked chair like Vela, which weighs just 2.5 kg, is an example. “In 2017, Magis founder Eugenio asked us to use magnesium to design a lightweight chair that reflects the unique quality of the ingredients.” Tel Aviv’s design portfolio of Gilli Kuchik and Ran Amitai explains the original intent of their design. Where to start with such a simple requirement? After a thorough exploration of the properties and manufacturing possibilities of magnesium, the designer decided to make stacking the main concept.

“Magnesium weighs 30% less than aluminum, so in addition to being durable, sustainable and elegant in shape, the chair has to be easily lifted so that it can be a ‘must-have’ chair for cafes, restaurants, public places and residential spaces.” “In addition, we wanted the chair to work in the outdoors, so the chair’s styling allowed water to drain through the back-to-back openings, solving the problem of drain holes in the seat,” they explain. ”

Adam Goodrum’s “Scape” outdoor furniture range is not reflected in its weight compared to Vela. However, due to the use of solid fiberglass concrete (GRC), the amount of use is reduced compared to conventional concrete, which reduces the burden on the environment. The stone-like smooth texture of the GRC echoes the designer’s original intention: to meet the challenges of urbanization with mobility.

Adam believes that in cities, people need to coexist with the natural environment and interact with other levels of society. The design of “View” attempts to create a fluid system that allows furniture to be more organic in visual and arrangement by setting up in non-fixed forms. What’s more, the series complements functionality by adding tables, backrests, canopies, flower slots, and side tables, and creative arrangements offer more possibilities for the workplace as a solution to improve the community. Perhaps it could gain more business opportunities for outdoor dining, which emerged during the outbreak?

While Australia is geographically an “island”, it is not lagging behind in global design: sustainability, gender and race issues have long been included in the awards category. Of particular interest is the “Aboriginal Designer” award, which recognizes not only the “Deadly Allstars” Aboriginal Cultural Group, which designed the physiotherapy space, but also the “Best Contribution Award” to David Unaipon, the designer of the improved sheepskin shear developed and patented in 1909. David’s design not only laid the foundation for modern mechanical sheep shearing, but also made his portrait printed on Australian $50 notes for future life.