Alistair Russell, designer, Bloom (UK)
Chen Chun Hei, visual communications, film, animation designer (Hong Kong); Christine Shum, Inoh Design (Hong Kong); Benny Lau, Creative Café (Hong Kong); Tom Shi, Tom Shi Design & Research (Guangzhou); Sunday Lau, multimedia designer, (Hong Kong); Leung Fan Wah, Design Systems Ltd (Hong Kong); David Gu, Philips Design (Hong Kong); Yvonne Yip Hiu Ying, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Jessica Cheng, Cornell University (New York)
Mandy Tang, Hong Kong, hearing impaired user
During the challenge Team 2 discovered that people with differing hearing abilities, share a desire and need to reduce levels of noise pollution, particularly in dense urban areas like Hong Kong. They used insights offered by Mandy, who has severely impaired hearing, as well as speaking to other consumers and created a campaign that promotes and facilitates a more peaceful public environment.
The campaign consists of an identity and a range of items that answer the brief of Independent Urban Lives and incorporate technologies and materials that are in existence.These are the solutions for the five challenges set by Mandy and the other consumers interviewed:
Challenge 1
‘I want to hear public announcements’
Solution: A visual and oral announcement system
Challenge 2
‘I want to get away from the noise in public places’
Solution A: A noise-reducing booth
Solution B: Noise-reducing headphones
Challenge 3
‘I want to map where the noisy and the quiet places are’
Solution: A mobile phone application that detects and maps noisy places. These are then uploaded to the website
Challenge 4
‘I want to protect my ears in very loud environments’
Solution: A dispenser that indicates the noise volume and dispenses a pack of affordable ear plugs
Challenge 5
‘I want people to take action’
Solution: A campaign to raise public awareness of noise pollution
