Discus Dental ™ Nuance ™

Nuance is a dental composite delivery system for performing tooth repairs that dispenses light-cured nanoresin. The delivery syringe elevates the user experience with advanced ergonomics, multichannel feedback and improved environmental appropriateness, all while providing precise and measured extrusion of composite material designed to reduce waste and save money.

Submitted by cliver on July 1, 2011 - 1:11am

Leaf Tie

Wrap it around unruly loose cables and the Leaf Tie instantly neatens your home or office. The leaf-like design of Leaf Tie makes the cables look like wrapped twigs, bringing a little nature inside.

Submitted by cliver on July 1, 2011 - 12:45am

Safe Agua

Through the collaboration between Designmatters at Art Center College of Design and Latin American NGO, Un Techo para mi País, The Safe Agua Project addresses the quotidian challenges of safe water access for Chile's poorest families living in slum developments (or campamentos) on the outskirts of Santiago.

The practical challenge for Safe Agua was to design concrete solutions for utilizing, transporting and storing water for families living in campamentos without running water. The extensive two-week field research undertaken by a team of 3 lead faculty and a multidisciplinary team of 12 students, became paramount in gaining a richer understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent to the project. This immersion in Chile allowed the students and faculty to gain experience with the communities and make personal emotional connections. Throughout the project the U.S.-based team continued to validate their design process through close contact with Chilean partners and the community of end users.

Safe Agua prototypes have been successfully field-tested with the families of the campamentos.. The Innovation team of Un Techo is currently working with government and corporate partners to scale and distribute these solutions across Chile.

Viewed as an example for the execution of socially driven design principles, The Safe Agua Project demonstrates the far-reaching potential for specifically tailored design research methodologies, collaborative processes, and creative solutions to achieve further relevant successes globally.

Submitted by cliver on June 30, 2011 - 2:42pm

Wildfire Truck Concept

This fire truck is a powerful tool for firefighters around the world who battle large wildfires. The unique space in the vehicle’s center functions as an information base when no communication infrastructure is available. The operator can communicate with headquarters and aerial units to coordinate firefighting strategies. It has a system that changes water to foam, and it can fight fires while moving.

“Climb into it, drive it, use it, analyze relevant data in it or enjoy looking at it. The Wildfire truck illustrates the power of a bold, refined prototype to test innovative thinking by richly probing a market space with a visceral, hands-on experience of the features and brand.” – Philip Swift, IDSA, Director of Industrial Design - North America, Crown Equipment