"Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design."
Charles Eames,
Naci Cenk Aytekin, a student at the Masters programme of Advanced Product Design at UID, won silver for his concept HOC in the International Design Excellence Awards 2011 (IDEA) arranged by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).
HOC is an ergonomic cutting tool designed in cooperation with the professional rescue personnel of the Umeå fire department. The main focus of the project was to improve safety and ergonomics for fire fighters in rescue situations through a user centred design process. The project was Cenk&s first term project at the Advanced Product Design programme and it was sponsored by Umeå municipality and carried out in collaboration with the Umeå fire department.
On-site and hands-on research and observations showed that existing hydraulic cutting tools in the market today are both heavy, have poor usability and ergonomics, or as Conny Qwarforth who works as a fire fighter in Umeå says: ‘Many of the tools we have are designed for industrial use, and therefore lack the ease of use that fire fighters need in critical situations such as traffic accidents.&
HOC is designed specifically for rescue operations where every second counts. The design is developed together with the fire fighters and can accommodate various working postures by providing highly flexible and easy to use ergonomic handles together with a rotating hose connection. By prolonging endurance, rescue personnel can have quicker and safer victim extrications.
Besides Cenk winning silver, the APD programme was honoured additionally by having two more students selected for the final. Erik Borg and Regimantas Vegele both participated with the concepts they developed during their 3rd term project focusing on Service Robotics.
Cenk will resume his studies at the Advanced Product Design programme in the autumn after having completed three different internships, in the United States (New York), Sweden (Örebro) and the Netherlands (Eindhoven) at as renowned companies as; Smart Design, Atlas Copco and Philips Healthcare.
