Community is a multi-faceted concept. You see it everywhere, from online platforms to ocean hubs, funeral forests, to air balloons in the sky. These ideas represent just some of the eight finalists in the Diseño Responde Community category, hand-picked by the jury from a total of 125 community nominees.
DeFacto is a holistic design system that facilitates access to justice tools for people with hearing and visual disabilities. This is done through various elements like a Braille exhibition, audio and visual comics in Mexican sign language, and public officials' workshops. It’s based on co-design and universal design guidelines. Designed by Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico.
Industrial fishing is taking its toll on many isolated coastal communities. Cala is an aquaculture system capable of encouraging the growth of crops and attracting different species to them. The design is meant to regenerate the marine ecosystem in these local communities and distribute information through the monitoring of crops. Designed by Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile.
What if commercial planes could extract water from the air? Look no further. Aire is a textile, microfibre layer that is fastened onto the windows of a plane. It captures water from the air by absorbing humidity and collects in the lower part of the plane, where there’s a water tank. The design can be a valuable aid during droughts and forest fires. Designed by Universidad Católica, Chile.
During the pandemic, health specialists have had difficulties in providing updates on the health status of patients to their families. This Covid update app allows them to update next of kin in a matter of minutes, by simply reading a barcode and selecting the status from a menu. The family members receive the information in real-time without risking a contagion outside a hospital. Designed by Universidad Panamericana, Mexico.
Lugün is an ecological funerary forest, where each body is buried under a different tree. Each tree has a unique scannable pattern, which leads to a personal musical biography with a profile photo, the name and songs previously chosen by the deceased or his family. Through music and nature, we can meet and connect with those who’ve passed away. Designed by Universidad Católica, Chile.
Elderly people have been severely affected by the pandemic, forcing them to take more precautions and often self-isolate. Ecolecuá helps these elderly with a community support network, where volunteers take advantage of their daily shopping trips to also supply an older adult in their neighbourhood. The service works through a web app, website and call centre. Designed by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile.
Water Fall delivers safe and clean drinking water to people in large quantities through balloons! The air balloons are installed in drought zones where there's high humidity during nighttime. The balloons are not only efficient water collectors, but also leave a stunning visible mark on the cities and towns they’re aiding. Designed by Universidad Católica, Chile.
Beyond the pandemic, would you feel safer if you could see the temperature of the people who serve you in different establishments? UNDR 37.5 is a visual indicator of temperature, oxygen levels in the blood and the frequency of handwashing of the people who attend you. This could help accelerate the economic reactivation in Latin America, generating confidence at a glance. Designed by Aarón López, Mara González, Manuel Grados, Abraham Palomar and Fernando Ramos, Mexico.
