Montreal (Canada) – The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) has announced a shortlist of six projects for the World Design Impact Prize 2015-2016 cycle.

These six shortlisted projects were selected by an expert Review Panel after an evaluation of the 82 nominations received this cycle. They address challenges such as how to stop the spread of disease, the stigma and high cost associated with hearing loss, developing new clean energy generation systems, stopping the spread of fires in informal settlements, giving refugees a chance to rebuild their lives, and finding new sources of potable water in isolated regions.

In alphabetical order, the shortlisted projects are:

HappyTap

Using a sustainable, market-based approach to hygiene, the HappyTap is helping combat the spread of diarrhea and other transmissible diseases through the promotion of handwashing. With the help of USAID funds, the device is now available for sale throughout Vietnam and Cambodia.

IHearYou®

Thanks to technological breakthroughs in cochlear implants, IHearYou enables people to take a hearing test, order and adjust their hearing aids remotely at less than half the cost of traditional hearing aids.

INVELOX on Palmyra Atoll

Invelox is a cost effective, high performance energy generation system that eliminates low-frequency noise, vibration and flicker issues. It can generate electricity with low speed winds and is also safe for birds. It is currently used by The Nature Conservancy on Palmyra Atoll.

Lumkani Fire Detector

A networked heat detector designed for informal settlements, Lumkani fights the devastation caused by the spread of fires in urban slums by creating a community wide early warning.

RE:BUILD

Built by the refugees who will benefit from it, RE:BUILD is a re-deployable, modular, durable structure that uses local materials to create the walls. A RE:BUILD school is currently in use at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan.

Warka Water

The Warka Water, currently piloted in Dorze, Ethiopia, is a community-run structure that is meant to provide up to 100 litres of safe drinking water a day collected from either rain, fog or dew. It also acts as a shaded meeting point for the community.

The Prize was launched in 2011 to recognise designers who want to make a difference in the world. Through innovative, affordable, replicable, human-centred design, these shortlisted projects seek to have a tangible positive impact on the communities for which they are intended.

“As Icsid continues to focus on Design for a better world, it wants to raise awareness of the power of industrial design to effect positive change,” said Dr. Brandon Gien, Icsid President and Chairman of the Word Design Prize 2015-2016 Review Panel. “It allows us to talk about how our industry makes a significant contribution to the betterment of society and how, more and more, we are doing just this in non-traditional ways. The expanded field of industrial design needs programmes such as the World Design Impact Prize to showcase the power of design thinking to solve the world’s most intractable problems.”

The Icsid membership, comprised of over 160 organisations worldwide, will vote to select three finalists and the winner of the Prize, now in its third cycle. The finalists will be announced on 12 January 2016 and the award will be presented at the World Design Capital® (WDC) International Design Gala in Taipei [Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)] in March 2016.

All nominated projects can be viewed on the World Design Impact Prize website at www.worlddesignimpact.org.

For more information please contact
Sarah Montpetit
Communications Officer
t: + 1 514 448 4949 ext. 238
e: smontpetit@icsid.org

About the World Design Impact Prize

The World Design Impact Prize is a biennial award created to recognise and encourage industrial design driven projects that benefit society. Established in 2011 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), the Prize creates an exciting opportunity for industrial designers from around the world to present their work to the Icsid Membership, representing more than 160 organisations across six continents.