Leicester, England, United Kingdom
RNID, the charity for deaf and hard of hearing people, is planning to manufacture and sell earplugs designed by a De Montfort University (DMU) student to protect the hearing of young people at nightclubs.
Chi Shing Lo, a second year BA(Hons) Product Design student at DMU, Leicester, won the RNID competition entered by 100 design students from some of the UK's top design universities for his credit card-style device called Earcard.
It is a flat-pack earplug system the size of a credit card which would be easy to manufacture and cheap to produce.
Shing, who is from Hong Kong, said: "When needed, the earplug can be quickly and easily assembled. The judges said they particularly liked its convenient shape and potential to be used in a large range of environments."
DMU swept the board, also taking second and third prizes in the competition which was launched by RNID after its own research found that 90 per cent of young people have experienced the first signs of hearing damage after a night out.
The competition was judged by top design consultancies including; IDEO, Tangerine and the Alloy, and Shing won an iPhone, a work-placement and a portfolio evaluation day at IDEO.
Emma Harrison, RNID's Head of Campaigns, said: "Most young people think they don't need to wear earplugs, but good quality earplugs don't block your hearing. They attenuate the sound - meaning that the decibel level reaching your ear is reduced while you can still hear the music you are listening to."
For more information see RNID's campaign website: http://www.dontlosethemusic.com
Second place went to fellow second year Product Design student Ian Beresford, 20, from London, for his 'Clipping Colour' design, and third place went to their colleague Chris Spurr, 22, from Wigston, Leicester, for his 'Sound Socket' design.
Quotes from the competition judges include Graeme Findlay, Senior Designer for IDEO, who said: "The top three designs we chose are designed for humans - they work around you and your lifestyle and it wouldn't be too much effort to use them. "Ideas are the challenge. You can work in different styles, for example with the snap-off design, but the spark of creativity is the thing."
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)