Around the world, designers are not sitting still when it comes to battling the coronavirus pandemic. They may not be healthcare experts, but that is not stopping them from working together with medical professionals to find solutions, or even coming up with innovative creations of their own.
Yong Jie Yu, founder of local multidisciplinary innovation agency, Stuck Design, says “smart design and innovation have a big role in the fight against Covid-19.”
Earlier in the year, Stuck Design put out an open call to collaborate with healthcare workers. They have since designed six products that aid in the battle with coronavirus. Most are not yet in production, “but by openly sharing these projects, we hope to make them available for those who need it,” says co-founder Donn Koh.
It is also inviting healthcare workers who see an urgent need for an innovation to reach out to them, so they can help with prototyping, sourcing and developing, to turn an idea into reality.
In China, a group of designers launched Create Cures, a public initiative that showcases products that provide public health solutions. Its founder Frank Chou says, “Even when the coronavirus is eliminated, there will still be challenges facing public health. As designers, we ask ourselves, what can we do, how can we contribute.”
While most items that designers around the world have created are still in their conceptual stages, some firms have released blueprints online, so their products can be made by anyone.
This article first appeared in The Business Times.
