2007 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA)
The International Design Excellence Awards are dedicated to fostering business and public understanding of the importance of design excellence to the quality of life and the economy. Winning the IDEA is a distinction like no other that brands your design as the very best in the business, among your peers, among your clients, among consumers around the world.
There were 81 winners of the 2007 International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in a number of different categories.
Web site: 2007 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA)
Two Student Design Award Winners
Universal Toilet
The Universal Toilet is a flexible toilet design useable by both individuals with disabilities and the general population that removes the social stigma of handicapped facilities. For users with disabilities, even a dedicated handicapped toilet requires maneuvering, especially when in a wheelchair. With the Universal Toilet users don’t need to turn or twist but can simply slide forward off the wheelchair directly onto the toilet. There is even a chest board to lean against for added stability and comfort. Handles on the chest board can also be of use when standing or transferring between the wheelchair. For other users, the chest board becomes a backboard to lean against. The Universal Toilet is also very space efficient, requiring only a quarter of the space of existing handicapped toilets. And since the toilet’s sleek, curving forms are like nothing seen before, users with disabilities need no longer feel self-conscious.
“The designers of the Universal Toilet understand the value of flexibility, offering a solution that users can adapt based on their abilities and preferences. Freedom of choice wins again!”
Gavin Ivester, IDSA, Senior VP & General Manager, International Footwear, PUMA
Contact:
Changduk Kim
kim.changduk@gmail.com
+82 29396746
Credit:
Changduk Kim and Youngki Hong of Daejin University (South Korea)
The Access
Access is a sleek, advanced exercise machine that accommodates users with or without disabilities through engineering and universal design. It also combines the features of multiple machines into one unit capable of giving a full-body workout. Simplified, minimal controls enable people with limited dexterity (paraplegics and quadriplegics) to set up and use Access with ease. Adjustable grip attachments allow anyone, from a short, 100-pound woman to a tall, 240-pound man, to customize the machine to their body type. Hooks from the base of the machine secure a wheelchair in place, and a rolling bench can be locked in place for users without disabilities. The design follows the current trend in fitness equipment for cleaner, sophisticated aesthetics. It also introduces color in a market where whites, grays and blacks dominate, with green accents that represent bright, vibrant energy.
“Simple design. Simple solution. Very thorough design process. Quickly became the standard by which all other entries were evaluated.” --Jonathon Kemnitzer, IDSA, Principal, KEM STUDIO; “Exemplifies the high quality of student work seen in this year’s entries. The Access designers embraced ideas of inclusion and universality, based their work on thorough research, and produced a beautiful, carefully detailed, remarkable solution to a very real problem.”
- Prasad Boradkar, IDSA, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University
Contact:
J. Ryan Eder, IDSA
ryan.eder@gmail.com
513-253-6043
Credit:
J. Ryan Eder, IDSA of University of Cincinnati
