When Bath-based design consultancy Matter decided to enter the 2009 DBA Inclusive Design Challenge sponsored by Sanctuary Care, their motivation was simple: they wanted to design a product that everyone would be able to use.
The challenge – to find ways to tackle problems that result from our sedentary lifestyles – was left wide open: from kids who are glued to their computers and office workers who barely leave their desks, through to elderly people, tied to their homes and those who live in supported care schemes.
The Helen Hamlyn Centre user group, a unique factor of the Challenge that puts 'extreme users' in contact with designers, gave the design team an opportunity to question people about the products and environments they felt let down by, in the context of sedentary lives.
Matter highlighted a number of product areas that needed reassessment, however it was only when they discussed how people adapt to ill-conceived seating products, that they started to focus their attention on a particular product area - the cushion.
They began to question and evaluate how well current seating cushions actually perform. An existing relationship with Herman Miller meant that Matter had access to the seating company's designers, working alongside them to create a more health-positive, supportive structure for the cushion, called 'mo.dynamic seating.
'mo. replaces the traditional synthetic foam and gel cushion padding with a moulded product consisting of a polymer spring array sandwiched between two identical mouldings of linked pixels to create a revolutionary new support system. The open structure of the product allows 'mo. to breath. Lightweight, with a slim profile to ensure that it fits easily into a bag, 'mo. is easy to carry and can be used it in any environment.
In an institutional setting, a product like this will inevitably need frequent cleaning and disinfecting. 'mo.'s moulded inner can be rinsed through under the tap or soaked and disinfected.
Praising the extremely high quality of all the entries to this year's DBA Inclusive Design Challenge, the judges gave the award to Matter and described 'mo. as outstanding, an 'intelligent journey from start to finish'. They praised Matter for the multiplicity of scenarios of use they had opened up for the product - in the home, for children, nomadic workers and frequent travellers.
Transcript of event here.
