Four teams consisting of students from the Dept. of Industrial Design at Kyung Hee University (KHU): Sung Ah-hyun, Kim Seung-eun, Shin Hyun-sub, Han Ye-ji, Lim Hyung-min, Kwon Eui-hwan, and Park Seo-hyun, achieved finalist positions in the 2023 Pin Up Concept Design Awards (PCDA). The ceremony was held on January 30, 2024.

About 2023 PCDA

  The PCDA is an international design competition aimed at discovering designers who possess the insight, expansion, and vision to enrich future society. The awards are divided into two categories: general and corporate-designated. The competition was hosted by the Korea Association of Industrial Designers (KAID), which was established with the goal of advancing and improving human lives. Additionally, the award was jointly organized by the chair brand Sidiz Inc. and the domestic cosmetics original design manufacture company Kolmar Holdings Co., with sponsorship from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. Each company provided topics for the corporate-designated category entries: Sidiz Inc. assigned “Chair designs for home offices,” and Kolmar Holdings Co. assigned “Cosmetic container designs for a minimal lifestyle for the Generation Z cosmetics brands.”

  Three teams and one individual from the Dept. of Industrial Design of KHU were nominated for this year’s finalist awards. The three teams participated in the product design theme of the general field, while Park was nominated in Kolmar Holdings Co.’s entries for designing a lifestyle cosmetic called Scope. The University Life was able to interview some of the award participants.

Chichico, Connecting Dementia Patients with Their Families

  Among the various categories, Seong and Kim designed a smart table named “Chichico” together, which is a shortened Korean word for cognitive therapy and communication of dementia patients. Seong explained that their goal was to assist dementia patients who are losing touch with their families due to the closed system of nursing homes. 

  Considering the users and their environments, they primarily focused on convenience while designing the product. This focus is well exemplified by Chichico’s intuitive user interface and its adaptability to hospital beds. Chichico enhances cognitive therapy sessions for patients by generating characters that resemble caregivers using artificial intelligence. Additionally, it facilitates real-time communication between patients and caregivers through a tablet installed on the table. 

  “I think the ultimate goal of designing is to empathize with and provide positive experiences to the users,” Seong mentioned. She added, “Thereby, our heavy focus on user experience seems to have contributed to the nomination.” Furthermore, she revealed her plans to continue enhancing Chichico and participate in next year’s awards with the aim of achieving even better results.

Sun Kim, Smartly Relieving People’s Physical Fatigue

  On the other hand, Shin and Han’s team designed “Sun Kim,” a device that analyzes data on the user’s physical fatigue and assists in alleviating it. Sun Kim is named after professor Kim Seon-chul from the Dept. of Industrial Design at KHU. Han explained that they chose his name because it embodies a gentlemanly, secretary-like feel that reflects the intuitive functionality of the product, with his permission. 

  The inspiration for Sun Kim came from identifying products that meet user needs. Shin and Han observed that many existing healthcare products are designed to emit heat or infrared rays directly onto fatigued areas, which may be ineffective when the user moves. Sun Kim incorporates a feature that detects the user’s position, enabling it to provide automatic assistance even as the user moves during the customized fatigue relief process. 

  Han mentioned that the effective integration of personalized features using analyzed user physiological data likely played a significant role in the product’s recognition as a finalist. Han expressed her own pride in the significant growth achieved through the competition and disclosed her plans to continue challenging herself by participating in various competitions.

SOIN, Monitoring and Reporting Pet’s Health

  Lim and Kwon’s team designed “SOIN,” a real-time health monitoring system for pets. SOIN continuously tracks various health-related factors of pets through cameras attached to collars and cages. The product name originated from the French word soin, which means care. Lim believed it effectively encapsulates the essence of the project. 

  The initial motivation behind the design stemmed from the aim to address the growing issue of pet loss syndrome, accompanying the rise in pet populations. Figuring out the technical implementation was the key to design development. “It took a long time to find and apply technology that allows for real-time monitoring of pet health,” Lim said. 

  Moreover, accommodating the diverse range of pet species posed a problem, but they managed to tackle it by narrowing the target range to dogs and cats. Lim added that his experiences as an undergraduate student and his efforts to apply these concepts in the real world helped complete the design. He expressed satisfaction with participating in the awards, stating that it allowed him to reflect more deeply on user-centered design and experience the joy of creating something new.

  The 2023 PCDA holds significance in its endeavor to connect design with society and users, contributing to the discovery of outstanding designs and designers. The future endeavors of the student winners in this competition are eagerly anticipated.