Shortlist announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards.

We’re excited to share this year’s shortlist of incredible projects from all around the world. Now in it’s eighth year, this prestigious award celebrates creativity in human-centred design across all disciplines from undergraduates at university. The RCA judges will look for submissions which show ingenuity, empathy and innovation whilst focusing on health, the ageing community and social benefit.

We have seen an impressive set of entries from 14 universities across 11 countries including Japan, Australia, South Africa, England, and new comers in Kenya! Some, pre Covid-19, respond to the Fix Partner’s needs with the ambition to enrich their daily lives whilst others respond directly to challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic.

Congratulations to all that have made the shortlist and thank you to everyone who entered! Below you can view all of the projects and hopefully be inspired to begin your own Fixperts story! The winner will be announced, digitally, by the RCA and Helen Hamlyn on 12 October.

Arts and Crafts Trolley for Peter

Fix Partner Peter suffers from muscular dystrophy. He has a great interest in arts and crafts. The problem he experiences is a difficulty of transporting craft materials from his storage drawers to his working desk. Four Loughborough Design school students, worked with Peter to design a portable storage unit for his Arts and Crafts activities.
Fixperts: Xiaohan Liu, Johnny Humphries, Alex Robertson, Lydia Hughes.
Fix Partner: Peter Burgess.
Master Fixperts: Sharon Cook, Hua Dong.
Education Institute: Loughborough University
Country: England

Bottle Screwtop Opener for Shirley

Shirley has arthritis so she has difficulty opening bottles of sparkling water, her favourite drink. The Fixperts at Kingston University design a device so she can open the bottles herself for the first time in 12 years.
Fixperts: Dylan, Tom, Honey and Viri
Fix Partner: Shirley
Education Institute: Kingston University
Country: England

Designing for Rosario’s problem

Rosario has osteoarthritis which prevents her from bending her knees. She wears compression stockings everyday but needs assistance when putting them on. Fixperts at Escola Massana Barcelona University designed a device which would help her open them on herself and gain more independence.
Fixperts: Allison Pérez, Núria Paneque and Montse Martínez
Fix Partner: Rosario López
Master Fixperts: Diego Ramos and Isaac Piñeiro
Education Institute: Escola Massana Barcelona
Country: Spain

Dry Food Dispenser for Clive

Fix Partner Clive had a stroke which affects the mobility in his left hand side. Fixperts at Ravensbourne University work with Clive to design and fabricate a food dispenser, easing his daily life.
Fixperts: Dan and Ekiel
Fix Partner: Clive Mellor
Master Fixperts: Nadine Bennett
Education Institute: Ravensbourne University
Country: England

Everybody Likes Potato Bake

Joe and his family love a potato bake but finds it hard to cut the potatoes with a knife and other devices often seem unsafe. Fixperts at Kingston University help Joe by creating a device which can cut the perfect slice, making the food preparation that much easier.
Fixperts: Jo, Lucas, Lukas and Rosie
Fix Partner: Joe
Education Institute: Kingston University
Country: England

Hammer it Johan

Johan, 64 years of age, is a pensioner and a few months ago he was diagnosed with Distal Muscular Dystrophy which effects his forearms and hands. He enjoys woodworking but needed something to assist him to get better grip of screws and nails whilst making frames. Fixperts at Tshwane University of Technology solve the problem by producing a tool to help him work.
Fixperts: Henk Blankestijn, Denzill Bothma, Onkgopotse Mothibe and Tyler Shibambo
Fix Partner: Johan Heunis
Master Fixperts: Jan Hendrik Dubery
Education Institute: Tshwane University of Technology
Country: South Africa

Knife Knob for Gil

Gil Meltzer has difficulty using a knife in his right hand which makes preparing food a demanding process. Fixperts at HIT, Holon Institute of Technology use their design skills to create a handle that Gil can grip more easily.
Fixperts: Dor Eli, Dave Miller and Tom Samuel
Fix Partner: Gil Meltzer
Master Fixperts: Prof. Gad Charny and Dana Yichye Shwachman
Education Institute: HIT Holon Institute of Technology
Country: Israel

Luggage Alternative for Ben

Ben is a student at Brunel University and a member of three basketball teams. As a wheelchair user transporting luggage and other items can be difficult as he needs someone to carry the bag on his behalf. To gain more independence Fixperts at Brunel design and make an attachable device allowing him to carry his bags.
Fixperts: Ben Biddell, Ben Hughes, Max Younossi, Harvey Badcock, Joe Arrowsmith, Teresa Georgantzi
Fix Partner: Ben
Master Fixperts: Mike Kann
Education Institute: Brunel University
Country: England

Market Place Shoe Polisher

A shoe polisher in Nairobi finds difficulty when moving his heavy supplies around. Fixperts at Technical University of Kenya work with him to design a transportable trolly and find a solution to his problem.
Education Institute: Technical University of Kenya
Country: Kenya

Mobility Scooter Platform for Margherita

RMIT collaborated with MPavilion as part of their community engagement design intervention, MPROJECTS. Fixperts at RMIT worked with Margherita to enhance her motorised scooter and make it easier to use on a daily basis.
Fixperts: Marcel, Luke, Jon and Todd
Fix Partner: Margherita Coppolino
Education Institute: RMIT University
In collaboration with: MPavilion

Tea Time with June

Fixperts at Brunel 2020 develop a milk bottle opener with their 88 year old Fix Partner, June Sault. June suffers from severe arthritis in both her hands and lack of mobility in her right shoulder. The product helps her open the cap of milk bottles and cut the seal. Double or quits!
Fixperts: Elsa (Anmol Kaur) Wadhwa, Jonathan Fisher, Lorcan O’Shea, Markella Viagkini, Reece Jerrett and Thomas Sault
Fix Partner: June
Master Fixperts: Mike Kann
Education Institute: Brunel University
Country: England

Wearable Jacket for Nagi and her mother

Nagi is full of curiosity. She has an interest in everything and tries to put something in her mouth. Although, her mother would like to keep tissues near as she uses them frequently. We made clothes with tissue case on the back to solve the problem.
Fixperts: Yuka, Mao, Yunika and Fuyuka
Fix Partner: Nagi and her mother Aki
Master Fixperts: Shin Azumi, Hidehiko Miura, Hiroaki Ohba and Jumpei Umekawa
Education Institute: Hosei University
Country: Japan

Designing in a pandemic

The coronavirus has bought challenges for a lot of people around the world. This year the Helen Hamlyn Judges will also present ‘Designing in a pandemic’ – an award which celebrates the problem solvers who have created a project whilst in lockdown.

Airpecker by Dennis

Dennis from Universität der Künste Berlin finds the air quality in his apartment very poor which gives him headaches. As he is restricted to being inside during the Coronavirus pandemic he designs and makes a device which reminds him to open the windows whilst he is working.
Fixperts: Dennis Loebach
Fix Partner: Dennis Loebach
Master Fixperts: Robert Scheipner
Education Institute: Universität der Künste Berlin / University of Art Berlin
Country: Germany

Anti Fog Eyeglasses

Tomer and Noga both wear eyeglasses and during the Coronavirus pandemic have had to wear a mask for safety reasons. Each time they wear their mask their glasses steam up, making it difficult to see. They are Fixperts at HIT, Holon Institute of Technology and have come up with an ingenious solution to de-fog their glasses.
Fixperts: Tomer and Noga
Fix Partner: Tomer and Noga
Master Fixperts: Prof. Gad Charny and Dana Yichye Shwachman
Education Institute: HIT Holon Institute of Technology
Country: Israel

Folding Work Area for Children

During the Coronavirus pandemic Fixperts at HIT, Holon Institute of Technology create a folding work area for a child who needs privacy and a place to concentrate whilst doing school work from home.
Fixperts: Yuval and Amit
Fix Partner: Ian
Master Fixperts: Prof. Gad Charny and Dana Yichye Shwachman
Education Institute: HIT Holon Institute of Technology
Country: Israel

GreenThumb by John

Whilst on lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic John started to care for plants for the first time. After monitoring their water and light needs he created a watering system token the plants as healthy as possible.
Fixperts: John Lörinci
Fix Partner: John Lörinci
Master Fixperts: Robert Scheipner
Education Institute: Universität der Künste Berlin / University of Art Berlin
Country: Germany

Soapanda – Hand Hygiene for Children

Fixperts at HIT, Holon Institute of Technology create a special hand soap for children to be encourage to properly wash their hands during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Fixperts: Orr, Daya and Darya
Fix Partner: Children
Master Fixperts: Prof. Gad Charny and Dana Yichye Shwachman
Education Institute: HIT Holon Institute of Technology
Country: Israel

The Holding Hands Machine – Der Händchenhaltautomat by Emma

Emma, a Fixperts from Universität der Künste Berlin, created a machine which would allow her to interact with people safely during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Fixperts: Emma Mende
Fix Partner: Emma Mende
Master Fixperts: Robert Scheipner
Education Institute: Universität der Künste Berlin / University of Art Berlin
Country: Germany

Window Planter by Aurelia

During the Coronavirus pandemic Aurelia was on lockdown in her Berlin apartment. She wanted to bring a sense of plant-life into the view from her window, making her lockdown experience more comfortable.
Fixperts: Aurelia Lehmann
Fix Partner: Aurelia Lehmann
Master Fixperts: Robert Scheipner
Education Institute: Universität der Künste Berlin / University of Art Berlin
Country: Germany