The INDEX:Award claims to be the world’s “biggest design award” program with a total annual prize value of 500,000 euros. Sponsored by the Denmark-based INDEX: organization, the award recognizes excellence in “design to improve life” – in five categories: body, home, work, play and community.
This year’s award winners in the five categories include:
- Freeplay, an off-grid fetal heart rate monitor for use in regions in the developing world where expert care and electrical power are in short supply
- The “Chulha”, a stove designed to limit the dangerous health conditions caused by indoor cooking, a tradition in many rural areas of the developing world
- Kiva, the person-to-personal microfinance initiative
- Pig 05049, a communication initiative that tracks all 185 products made from a single pig, intended to ” …help people in a highly mechanized and ‘packaged’ world understand how things are made and where they come from so that the resources involved can be cared for by enlightened, informed people.”
- Better Place, an electric car infrastructure project designed to move drivers, the automotive industry and energy-distribution past the internal-combustion engine
- Street Swags, an all-in-one “bed and a bag” designed to provide more comfort, warmth and protection from weather for people living on the street
In-depth profiles for each winner and the finalists are available on the award’s website. For those interested in the intersection of design and social innovation, this list is a must-see:
Helen Kula sources and delivers market data and intelligence to entrepreneurs, high-growth companies and MaRS staff and advisors. She is an active member of Toronto’s information professional and librarian communities.
