SoPhy: Smart Socks Connecting Remote Patients and Physiotherapists

The BioDesign Studio is a new permanent exhibition created by The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and NYC-based experience design studio, Local Projects. For the first time ever, it makes the burgeoning — and complex — fields of synthetic biology, bioengineering, biological design and DIY biology accessible to the public in an engaging and tangible way. To demystify these cutting-edge fields and technologies, visitors are able to play, tinker and design with the building blocks of life…literally.

Sharks are majestic creatures that have, unfortunately, received a bad reputation. The Shark Sense VR exhibit was designed to challenge visitors to aquariums to see the world from a shark’s perspective and discover just how incredible these animals are. Based on the principles of experiential learning – the understanding that we are all able to better grasp concepts, and learn and retain information when we experience things firsthand – the experience is designed as an immersive virtual reality game.

Australian hip-hop legends Hilltop Hoods and Google Play collaborated to create an interactive music video that harnesses mobile capabilities to capture a world turned upside down, as experienced by band member Dan Smith during his son’s leukemia treatment. Two 3D environments rendered in code are navigable by rotating the phone, translating a personal journey into a powerful digital experience. Each listen on Google Play generated a donation to support young Australians living with cancer.

Nail art has exploded into mainstream demand due to social sharing – its one of the top 5 most shared items on Instagram and Pinterest with 8.5 billion dollars a year spent on nails. Yet keeping up with this trend can challenging. A basic salon manicure averages $20, but custom art on each finger can cost more than $50. DIY techniques are cheaper but they’re messy and require lots of skill, materials, and steady hands. Off-the-shelf nail wraps offer convenience but they eliminate the opportunity for creative self expression. So for most women, personalized nail art is an aspiration rather than reality – until now.

Before the late-1990s, dial-up was the standard way of connecting to the Internet. Accessing the Internet was a conscious action that involved negotiation between family members living in the same house. The nostalgic dial-up modem sound of Pshhhkkkkkkrrrrkakingkakingkakingtshchchchchchchchcch… was the bridge between the analogue and the digital. Today, we are living in a world where the Internet and connected devices have become ubiquitous. The excitement around connecting to websites has disappeared and the underlying mechanism of the internet is hidden.

The Teaching Channel website creates a much-needed resource for time-strapped teachers in all stages of education and all types of schools, helping them find useful examples of teaching methods along with the support materials they need to implement these methods into their own classrooms. Teaching Channel enables them to get support and inspiration from their peers, with the eventual aim of instilling pride in those who are engaged in what is often a difficult but essential profession. It reinforces the importance of the craft of teaching by delivering content in a high-quality experience not often associated with educational resources on the web. We also realize that the discussion and information that enables teachers to improve their craft carries the most meaning when shared with other teachers that share similar teaching environments such as class size, subject of focus, or grade level. This insight forms the foundation for the design of the community features within the website, ensuring that teachers can easily find other teachers like them, and "follow" and learn from these similar teachers within discussions sparked by the video content.

eCare is a platform that helps caregivers arrange their work, while also reducing their workload by analyzing transportation times between work locations; alleviating the care pressure for all parties.

Across the globe, User Experience (UX) Research teams invest months in user interviews and weeks in crafting a set of Personas. A User Persona, is a detailed and semi-fictional representation of a target user, based on research and insights. Yet, these Personas often fall short of their intended impact on UX and products. We embarked on a mission to enhance Personas, ensuring they deliver their true value in understanding users and facilitating exceptional user experiences. After numerous iterations, we developed the Persona Mapper—a tool designed to revitalize Personas.

Think about your last doctor’s visit — it may have been last week, last month, or even last year. Now, think about exactly what was said during that visit. Which medications did your doctor prescribe? What were the next steps? If you’re like most people, it’s often difficult to remember all of the details. That’s where Abridge comes in. Abridge helps people stay on top of their health and brings more compassion and confidence to every step of a person’s health journey. It helps people capture the details of their care so they can follow through on their doctor’s recommendations and gain more peace of mind. When surveyed, patients reported forgetting 40%+ of their conversations with doctors. The parts they forgot? Everything in the middle and next steps — some of the most critical parts of the visit.

Step should win in the “Expressing” category because it represent an innovative, engaging and creative way of approaching music production for children between 6 and 100 years old.