Flemish researcher takes on stigma of prosthetics and cycle helmets
A lecturer at the University of Antwerp is working on making certain products more discreet and reducing the stress and discomfort that users often feel
Making life better
Vaes is a lecturer in the faculty of design sciences at Antwerp, but he sought the support of TU Delft because of its specialised Institute of Positive Design, where researchers invent designs that make people happier – like, for instance, a to-do list made of chocolate that the owner can eat once they’ve carried out the tasks on it.
The starting-point of Vaes’ research was a request from the Finnish-Belgian company Genano to improve the child-friendliness of dust masks to protect asthmatic children who need them to filter small particles out of the air. “The children often don’t like to wear them because they get stared or laughed at when they go out with the masks on,” explains Vaes.
To examine the scale of distress caused by the masks, Vaes sent his Antwerp students out into the streets with a dusk mask on. “It was not an agreeable experience for them,” he confirms. “Other people stared, shouted, laughed or kept more distance than necessary out of unease or anxiety.” Using an ultrasonic sensor, Vaes ascertained that, on average, passers-by kept about 45 centimetres more distance than normal if the student they encountered wore a dust mask.
Thinking about integration
Inspired by these eye-opening experiments, the students started to camouflage the masks with a scarf or personalise it with a drawing. Their designs led to the development of prototypes of new masks, but the commercial progress of this project for Genano is currently on hold for financial reasons.
However, Vaes also developed solutions for companies to reduce the stigma attached to various other products, including prostheses and cycling helmets. He analysed a database of about 300 good examples of innovative products that reduced stigma.
“For example, a hearing aid that has been integrated into glasses, a sporty wheelchair or, for cyclists, a device with sensors that registers a fall and only then unfolds a protective helmet,” he explains. There is also an innovative dust mask – the Airwaves Connected mask – which uses a particle sensor to measure air quality and shares the data via Bluetooth, allowing the user to wear it only when necessary.
The person felt he was perceived as weak, sick and dependent, while he is actually self-reliant
To encourage designers to take product-related stigma into account before coming up with a concept, Vaes created a more user-friendly checklist than is currently available. The checklist includes questions like: “Is the product discomforting or repelling during use?” and “Does using the product cause unease or a threat to others?”
The checklist was tested to examine the case of a person with a respiratory condition that requires him to carry a mobile oxygen dispenser during the day – integrated in a shoulder bag. The oxygen travels through a lightweight translucent tube that is placed underneath the nostrils. “The person felt he was often perceived as weak, sick and dependent, while he is actually self-reliant,” explains Vaes.
Vaes also developed a card set for designers that provides 17 strategies to alleviate the stigma attached to products. These strategies include adding colour, giving the product a sportier look, integrating it into another accessory, camouflaging and customising.
“The mobile oxygen dispenser we examined, for example, could be integrated into a very sporty backpack, and the tube could be integrated into a modern spectacles frame,” Vaes explains.
Vaes will now continue the research, including through projects with the Centre for Care Technology at the University of Antwerp. He also hopes to involve the business world more, here and abroad.
www.kristofvaes.be
Photo: 3D systems
