Seoul Design
International Forum
서울디자인국제포럼

The Index Project was started in 2002 to educate and encourage people worldwide to draw sustainable solutions to global and social issues. Design and design processes engage in improving the quality of our lives and the community. The project is based on a “design to improve life,” a concept that has been mentioned since 2002. Thus, we take a user-centered design approach and consider their impact on sustainable society, economy, and environment.

In other words, design is a powerful tool for better lives and for creating and expanding social values in the 21st century. Today, numerous users consider the sustainability of products and services and the fairness of manufacturing processes when assessing its value. Consumers not only consider the aesthetic impression of a product, but also its influence, manufacturing context, and organic status. They also want to check whether it is produced based on a circular economy as well as its social values and economic impact. These questions, raised by the users, are natural and appropriate.

Unless we change our production and consumption methods, the world may come to an end, as evidenced by scientists. Then, can design save us? The answer is yes. If we use design with benevolent purposes, it could become a hero and protect us. As design pursues user-centered solutions, greater social value can be created if the companies and the government strategically and actively use design and apply a design mindset and way of thinking.

Since 2005, we have been holding the Index Award, which awards hundreds of designers globally. The designers present hope and sources of inspiration through their ideas and find ideal designs for better lives. More than 10,000 projects have been proposed globally, holding its 9th award this year. The contest takes a somewhat different approach from traditional design contest by closely reflecting our daily lives, encompassing subjects such as body, housing, work, entertainment, learning, and local community.

Allow me to introduce some project cases. The first project is Zipline. Zipline uses commercialized medical drones to transport and deliver essential medical supplies, blood, or vaccines quickly. In collaboration with various partners, including the Rwanda government, Zipline, established in Silicon Valley, supplies essential medical supplies for 2.2 million citizens in 15 to 35 minutes. The operation scope of Zipline drones is 150 km, and 500 deliveries can be completed within 24 hours in any weather condition. Medical officials order the necessary medical supplies through smartphones, which are then quickly packed in a safe distribution center. The applicant can check the delivery status on the order status page and via text message.

Another case is the construction project BIOHM. Being one of the largest industries in the world, construction causes harmful side effects to workers and has material recycling issues. BIOHM developed insulated panels from natural materials extracted from mycelium for continuous use in various climate conditions to minimize energy waste as well as the overall impact of pollutants on the earth. Mycelium is a safe, natural material that outperforms petrochemistry or plastic-based construction materials in terms of insulation and sound-proof effects. Thus, it is an excellent alternative to non-decomposable materials in all fields, from furniture to fashion. It also has robust durability, and it can be produced with minimum natural resources.

Zipline & BIOHM

The following case is an LED light called Pisces. The device aims at adjusting the scale of commercial fisheries and inducing fishers to avoid non-target species and only catch ones in approved sizes. The device emits red light to lure codfish and blue for mackerel; as the ideal example, it can designate various light patterns and types in terms of wavelength, intensity, and blink speed to satisfy specific needs. It is designed for easy application and reuse of nets or other tools used in modern fishing operations. Developers collaborated with fishers in various fields for project planning to improve the accessibility of various geographic conditions.

Let’s now move on to technical matters. Technology greatly benefits design application, and it is related to design in various aspects. Design must adequately combine with technology for complementary cooperation. The Algorithmic Justice League applies AI technologies and engages in transparently and fairly building the AI ecosystem to meet increasing social needs and expansion of AI systems. AI tools have various technical skills and potential but may threaten and harm vulnerable and marginalized groups. Without appropriate regulations and rules, the AI system might intensify various forms of discrimination, including race, gender, and abilities. Thus, the Algorithmic Justice Leagues raises people’s awareness of AI issues and publicizes AI’s influence through empirical research. This activity corrects the wrongful prejudice or misunderstanding of policymakers or industrial officials on AI matters and changes their perceptions.

   

Pisces & Algorithmic Justice League

We must remember that good technologies should be developed for everyone; here, the good technologies don’t necessarily mean an advanced technology. Using basic and simple principles and materials could be considered good technologies, too. Paperfuge is a manual centrifuge that can work with only 20 cents. It uses traditional principles applied to traditional centrifuges to provide practical use in illness diagnoses. Existing centrifuges must be operated by electrifying high-cost equipment to rotate bio-sampling thousands of times per minute. However, Paperfuge enables manual operations and rotates at a reasonable speed to allow plasma separation in blood samples. Thus, it only takes 90 seconds for standard diagnoses. Centrifuges are primarily used in malaria diagnoses and are particularly effective in disease-prone regions with a shortage of resources. The device provides quick diagnoses and treatments for HIV, tuberculosis, and other illnesses, prevents severe diseases, and reduces mortality rates — even better, the product is manufactured for 20 cents only.

As previously mentioned, most companies and governments use design to provide various benefits and improve the quality of people’s lives. Companies sell goods and services to create designs with social values that meet people’s expectations and implement sustainable, responsible, and fair corporate activities. The government integrates design in policy procedures to improve people’s lives as well as industries including the environment. If adopted methods and procedures reflect design mindsets and methodologies to get closer to citizens, listen to their voices, and draw solutions, we can develop design tools that improve the quality of lives and services.

Furthermore, governments can include such design mindsets and methodologies in educational institutions or policies. Advanced STEM education is required for the young generation to prepare against globalization, digitalization, and climate change. STEM stands for education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is essential in raising creative problem-solving skills, innovative skills, or critical thinking to accept or lead changes in the future.

Korea has been proceeding with the STEM education and design thinking project for two years with Chile, Peru, Mexico, and the Republic of South Africa. The core of the design mindset is putting oneself in another person’s shoes. Students should look at things from another perspective to find solutions. The education encourages students to gather ideas, assess method of approach, and undergo tests through prototypes. This project has been designed based on years of experience of the Index Projects. We guide multiple steps of design mindsets for instructors and develop tools and technologies for use in in the classroom.

 

The developed tools are called “compass,” promoting and integrating educational courses to improve lives and solve problems. The compass helps anyone go from A to B based on technologies.

From a strategic perspective, social values created through design mindsets contribute to sustainable, fair, and responsible consumption and production of products. Design is no longer about beautiful shapes. It has influential power and can improve our lives through products and services.

Design and technology must be integrated for social innovation. Technologies functioning as good tools should support everyone in society without discriminating against race or abilities based on comprehending the context. We must control technologies instead of letting them dominate us. Adopting technologies raises the the city’s competitiveness and strengthens STEM education, including technical courses, and improves design thinking, problem-solving skills, and empathic abilities. Therefore, tools that solve social problems provide beneficial support for our lives.

The Index Award is the world’s most significant design award, having received numerous projects since 2005. The Index Award publicizes outstanding designs to present the roles that design should play for better lives. General design awards focus on specific areas, such as product or service design, but the Index Award embodies all fields in our life, including, but not limited to, bodies, life, work, entertainment, and learning. Its differentiation comes from including various sectors. The shape and appearance of products are no longer new to us. Instead, the Index Award pursues and puts great value in designs creating better lives.

Excellent ideas selected in the Index Award stay even after the award ends. Conferences are held with participants, mainly the nominees and winners, and collaborative projects are carried out with companies worldwide. We call award winners the INDEX Alumni and find design solutions for better lives by citing their designs in various training and workshops. As you can see, award winners and nominees in previous years continuously join together to create new opportunities, which sustain and tighten networks. We make various attempts to benefit everyone and every society in the world.

We continuously provide exhibitions and opportunities for communication and even make direct investments for winners. The Index Project consists of two micro-fund types. We currently invest in six projects along with our joint investors. Many great projects have been established through these activities in the last few years. Some projects with good ideas lacked in terms of business. In this case, we provided development program or networks for collaboration with specialized design companies. All projects submitted to the Index Award are not simply proposals for concepts but actual product outputs. The Index Award selects award-winning projects that substantially influence multiple parts of our lives, making them much more valuable than mere prototypes. Implementing and realizing these projects require investments and development programs, which the Index Award does wonderfully. This is the most significant differentiation factor of the Index Award.