Throughout the quarter, the theme of our design 1 class has been design in society, and how design aims to function within and even improve society. Although I will come back to one very specific design, I would first like to talk about an event that focuses on utopian design. This event is the Index Award, an award that is given out every other year to designers who create products that aim to better the world around us. This award is given out or five different categories--body, home, work, play, and community.
One major aspect of the thinking behind the Index Award is also one of the key points in our class--the design process. The creators of this award have broken down the creative process into four different steps, with each step joined together by the sub-steps of summing up, learning, and continuing. These four steps are 1. Prepare; 2. Perceive; 3. Prototype, and; 4. Produce.
By following these steps, Philip Greer, Lisa Stroux, Graeme Davies, and Chris Huntley were able to create a design that was selected as the 2007 winner of the work category. Inspired by the underground bombings in London in 2005, the "tongue sucker" was created to be a paramedic's new best friend. According to their research, the creators of the tongue sucker found that the average arrival time of a paramedic was 12 minutes during the bombings. The average person will die or suffer severe brain trauma from lack of oxygen after only 4 minutes should his/her tongue slip back and block the airway while unconscious. The design behind this small gadget allows even an untrained bystander to suck the tongue out of the back of the throat, allowing paramedics time to secure other victims, perform CPR, or even call for more assistance.
Despite its small and seemingly effortless design, the tongue sucker saw 60 prototypes before the winning design was created, and even now, it faces difficulties while the designers search for a company willing to produce the award-winning design.
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