HfG Projects ​“forest­sense” and Elec­trolux Jordana” awarded with UX Design Awards

Univer­sity of Applied Sciences Schwä­bisch Gmünd (HfG) and one of its students stood out on two occa­sions at this year’s spring inter­na­tional UX Design Awards. For his indi­vi­dual design project ​“forest­sense,” HfG student Niklas Muhs was awarded the ​“UX Design Award I Gold” in the cate­gory of ​“New Talent”. In the latter cate­gory, and in an exch­ange semster project at the Swedish Umeå Insti­tute of Design, Niklas and his project part­ners Luisa Ebeling, Indalecio Gaytan and Yash Saboo won the ​“UX Design Award” for their project ​“Elec­trolux Jordana”. 

“forest­sense” by Niklas Muhs, deve­loped in the HfG study program of product design and super­vised by Andreas Hess, is a soft­ware tool with an inter­face func­tion for data capture and data usage in the forest industry. For this purpose, Niklas created a sensor plat­form gene­ra­ting a digital image of wood­lands through three-dimen­sional data and color values. Addi­tional spec­tral sensors enable the user to timely reco­gnize the stock of dise­ased trees. The plat­form is thus desi­gned to create a traceable and compre­hen­sible link between forests and digital surfaces. Using this a base, it will be possible to assess and evaluate the acquired data in order to take respec­tive measures for the cause of a sustain­ably-driven forestry. 

“ ​„forest­sense“ convinced the jury with its holi­stic solu­tion approach. The design of the hard­ware reaches a tech­ni­cally almost feasible concept level. The hard­ware seam­lessly connects to a well-desi­gned soft­ware appli­ca­tion, which is rounded off by a profes­sio­nally crafted user inter­face. ​„forest­sense“ is the result of detailed field studies and inte­grates very well into the daily work­flow of fores­ters. This elabo­rate concept offers an excel­lent solu­tion for the protec­tion of the world’s forests, which are an important factor in the global fight against climate change,“ the UX Design Award jury stressed. 

UX Design Award for ​“Elec­trolux Jodana” project 

The topic of sustaina­bi­lity was also at the very center of another HfG project awarded with the UX Design Award by Niklas Muhs, this time during his exch­ange semester at the Swedish Umeå Insti­tute of Design, one of the many inter­na­tional HfG partner schools. ​“Elec­trolux Jodana,” deve­loped by HfG student Niklas Muhs toge­ther with Luisa Eber­ling, Indalecio Gaytan, and Yash Saboo is a sustainable and indi­vi­dual ecosystem for cooking through which the consump­tion of short-lived products can be reduced. 

Given the socio­po­li­tical back­ground: In many count­ries, people, for the impro­ve­ment of their finan­cial status, are forced to leave their home and their fami­lies. As a conse­quence, they auto­ma­ti­cally use more house­hold devices, leading to much more elec­tronic waste annu­ally. ​“Elec­trolux Jodana” and its respec­tive cooking equip­ment wants to counter this process through versa­tile appli­ca­tion options and indi­vi­dual user custo­miza­tion. Thus, the project addresses two aspects: on the one hand, it wants to foster and streng­then a common family feeling despite spatial sepa­ra­tion at home or abroad, on the other hand, it aims at redu­cing the use of non-durable products and mini­mi­zing elec­tronic waste in general. 

Or as the UX Design Award jury coined it: ​„This well-desi­gned concept offers a product unlike anything curr­ently available on the market. The self-expl­ana­tory user inter­face is reduced to a minimum, but clearly commu­ni­cates the func­tions of heat regu­la­tion, weight measu­re­ment and timer. The idea of crea­ting a small commu­nity to keep in touch with family or friends through an abstract way of inter­ac­tive cooking is char­ming and a novel idea. Modu­la­rity is the future, and this concept could prove itself in all markets, inclu­ding dormi­t­ories and commu­nity spaces, exten­ding its life­span as a growing system.“

The UX Design Awards 

The UX Design Awards are hosted by the Inter­na­tional Design Center Berlin (IDZ) and honor the role of outstan­ding User-Expe­ri­ence-Design (UX) for the design of a posi­tive living envi­ron­ment for the public good. Founded in 2008 as an exhi­bi­tion foor good usabi­lity, the IDZ estab­lished the UX Design Awards in 2015. Since then and twice a year, the awards distin­guish the world­wide best design expe­ri­ences. The compe­ti­tion is open for both products, services, envi­ron­ments, concepts, visions, and Master and Bachelor theses from all over the world. In spring 2023, and in the context of a total of 400 submis­sions in five cate­go­ries (Public Choice, Product, Concept, Vision, New Talent), 91 projects had been nomi­nated with 16 inter­na­tional projects being finally awarded with the UX Design Award.