During this uneasy time of living with and working through the global COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging our connections and unique skills as industrial designers to help others has become all the more important.
Russ Henning, IDSA, Director of Industrial Design at Paramit’s Product Development Group and Chair of IDSA San Jose, is one of many designers who have stepped up to make personal protective equipment, or PPE, for frontline heatlthcare workers. He also has shared Archimedic’s instructions for making an origami-style mask and joining Open Medical’s Origami Mask Project.
Says Henning, “The design community has exploded with 3D-printed masks and other ways to help bolster the need for these essential pieces of safety. Good job everyone! I am proud of what we have accomplished so far.
Recognizing that substantial need necessitates substantial participation, my boss (Paramit founder and CEO Billoo Rataul) and I started our own mask program. Following a tip from the CEO of Archimedic, I adapted their origami mask design to be produced on our design firm’s laser cutter.
Here’s how you can help too: Whether you laser-cut or cut by hand, it is easy to make a cheap and effective mask. Follow this link to download the template and view the instruction video. Then spread the word!”