New Designers 2023 : An insight into the future of Design.
Molly attended New Designers in London for Week 2 of the exhibition, in which new talent across graphic design, product design, illustration and digital arts, and other creative fields shared their visionary ideas.
Amongst the 3000 handpicked graduates, she was on the lookout for those that demonstrated a passion for human centred design thinking in their approach and shared We are Human’s values; Empathetic, Dynamic and Empowering.
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Wow, what an incredible showcase at New Designers this year. Huge congratulations to all those that exhibited; the talent, passion and creativity in the building was fantastic. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it around the entire exhibition as there was just so much to see! For those I did speak to, thank you for being so friendly, informative, and professional. It was a pleasure talking to you and learning about your projects.
I have spotlighted six individuals I met at New Designers who developed products in the Medical and Healthcare space, with a summary of each project and how they displayed We are Human’s values.
Empathetic
Christy Davison
Christy designed and developed ‘Sana’, a standardised nurse uniform which incorporates ventilation to assist in regulating body temperature, inspired by the experiences of nurses going through menopause who found themselves working in poorly designed uniforms and inefficient buildings. Christy and I had a great discussion about the in-depth research she conducted and her findings which revealed a need for nurse uniforms to be designed in the same way as sports/ active wear, which considers high levels of movement and perspiration on shift. I was especially impressed with the high quality of Christy’s textile prototype of the uniform and assumed she had experience with sewing. Christy had never sewn before this project and learnt this new skill during her final year to enable her to test and realise her ideas – very impressive!
Empathetic
Ellen Callaghan
Ellen presented a reliable and convenient at-home cervical screening device that removes non-attendance barriers.
Ellen demonstrated extensive research into the various user needs, and her successful design is an accumulation of lots of prototyping and testing. Ellen considered the full-service offering of the product, which included a supporting companion app and discreet packaging. It was clear that Ellen immersed herself in understanding her target users, and I was very impressed by the simulated usability testing she conducted using a cervical anatomical model.
Empowering
Jess Gardner
Jess designed and developed a reusable and portable at-home pain relief device for those doing IVF injections. The device uses Peltier cooling and vibration to decrease injection pain and guides the user through the injection process to minimise confusion and anxiety over correctly administering the dose.
Jess dived into understanding the problem space for people undergoing IVF treatment, who currently have to inject multiple times per day for weeks. Through a thorough understanding of the current problems and user needs, Jess ensured the design features addressed numerous factors to provide a better injection experience for those experiencing IVF. Jess also considered the safety and effectiveness of the design and how this product would slot seamlessly into the everyday lives of the end user and current service.
Empowering
Rikke Geelen
Rikke shared the extensive research she conducted into the issue of limited menstrual hygiene awareness in rural India, her understanding of the different stakeholders to consider and her passion for female health. It was clear that each element Rikke designed was carefully considered, and she ensured the design language was consistent throughout the entire product system, including the user manual and the product itself. It was a beautiful design that promoted the normalisation of menstruation and provided easy, step-by-step guidance for both teachers delivering the training and student learning.
Dynamic
Jacob Williams
Jacob designed and developed ‘Block-Check’, a wrong site regional nerve block prevention device with an integrated and digitised WHO surgical sign-in form; aimed to minimise clinical disruption while enforcing safety procedures. Jacob demonstrated the importance of understanding NHS staff’s user needs and the systematic considerations when introducing a new product into the NHS’s current workflow. His project had a strong focus on risk management. It was clear that risk mitigations were designed into the product to address not only existing issues that could potentially lead to patient harm but also new issues that could result from the new design. His product development involved the creation of low-fidelity prototypes to ensure usability testing could be conducted quickly and early in the design process.
Dynamic
Neve Smith
Neve created ‘Perpal’, a modular pain relief product for those that menstruate.
Neve’s design process included lots of prototyping and testing with users to ensure the handheld product addressed various user needs, such as a comfortable product to hold and use on the skin. Neve shared that she enjoyed the challenge of balancing considerations from both a manufacturing and cost perspective with the findings from her usability testing. Neve considered her final design’s feasibility, desirability, and viability and demonstrated her understanding of the importance of creating a product that satisfies various stakeholder’s needs.
