innovate 6 - Helen Hamlyn Centre - Royal College of Art

The DesignersTony Howard,RoundelGavin Thomson,Factory DesignSally Costen,Seachangeencourages compliance in taking prescribedmedicines. The project aims to reducemedical emergencies stemming fromhuman error.The panel was very impressed by thedesign team’s willingness to take on anincreasingly complex subject, identify theseparate needs of the stakeholders at eachlevel of the system, and translate these intoconcepts that were brilliant, yet simple andeffective. The judges felt that Life Circle, ifadopted by the industry, could holistically– and dramatically – resolve some of thepsychological, systemic and financial issuesthat lead to non-compliance.Last but not least of the six projects wasBuddy, proposed by brand communicationconsultancy The Team. Buddy is a wearablemobile device with vibration alerts that warnthe hearing impaired user when alarms gooff in the vicinity, helps distinguish betweenthem and allows informed decisions andaction to be taken.The judges felt that Buddy directlyaddressed the user’s emotional and physicalneeds by simultaneously reducing theirvulnerability and enabling new levels ofindependence and peace of mind. Of allthe projects, this was one that tackled an9