Designs ‘to improve human life’ shortlisted

The Index Award 2009 has announced its shortlist of 72 designs from 18 countries. A €500 000 (£440 000) prize will be split equally between five winners across five categories.

Briefed to create ‘Designs to improve human life’, 720 entrants looked to address body, home, work, play and community categories.

The shortlist includes Malaria Must Go, a UK entry, designed by Katie Taylor and Andrew Stordy, which attracts and kills mosquitoes using CO2 and foot odour.

I-Limb Hand, in the body category, produced by UK-based Touch Bionics, is a prosthetic which mimics the dexterity of a human hand and includes a thumb that can be rotated.

Other designs include Nike basketball trainers made from the waste products of other trainers and a disposable birthing kit for midwives in the developed world.

Kigge Hvid, chief executive of Index, says that entrants are judged on the ‘ethical and cultural perspectives’ of their designs, rather than focusing on form and appearance, and explains that ‘social and economic impact’ are equally important.

The winners will be announced on August 28 in Denmark, at the Danish National Broadcasting Centre.

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