Meno II named as Joseph Stannah Award winner at New Designers 2021
Andover, 1 July 2021 – At the launch of New Designers 2021 last night, Stannah announced the winner of the hotly contested Joseph Stannah Award as Olivia Latham. A final year Design for Industry student from Northumbria University, Olivia presented the Meno II, a portable or wearable cooling device to help women in the workplace who experience the discomfort of hot flushes during menopause.
The small, chargeable device, about the size of a matchbox, can be kept in a handbag or at a desk and, as required, the device can then be placed on key points around the body such as the wrist or the back of the neck to bring cooling relief. Alternatively, the Meno II can be worn in a special vest that holds the device at the base of the neck and offers discreet, accessible controls at the front.
The award has been made as part of New Designers, the UK’s leading graduate design show, which brings together the best emerging talent from around the country to connect and celebrate the future of design.
With the Joseph Stannah Award in its third year, 26 talented young graduates made submissions. The five-member judging panel, made up of design, engineering and marketing professionals at Stannah, was looking for innovative, inclusive designs that promote independent living and address real life problems.
Ross Pascoe, Chief Technology and Design Officer at Stannah and chair of the Stannah judging panel, said, “We were incredibly impressed with the quality of entries and it took some discussion to narrow the field down. But ultimately, we felt that Olivia was a deserving winner, demonstrating a strong research and insights driven process and a detailed understanding of the issues. Her approach showed maturity, focusing on the important aspects of acceptance and perception, resulting in a well-considered product. This was supported by an elegant form and a considered function, driven from user research.”
The judges also felt that Olivia’s pro-active approach to find and work directly with real users to gain insight, which evidently helped evolve both the solution and product design throughout the process, added real value to the final proposal.
Named after the Victorian founder of the business, a passionate and prolific engineer, the Joseph Stannah Award comes with a £1000 prize to support the winner’s career and the opportunity to take up a six-week paid placement in the Stannah design office in Andover, Hampshire.
Winner Olivia said of the award, “ Given the sensitive nature of the topic, I ensured throughout the project I was getting validation from women who are experiencing, or who have experienced, menopause. Having the concept backed up and supported by potential users was essential, but to additionally have the backing of winning the Joseph Stannah Award, enforces the design credibility. Supporting menopausal women is a topic I have become really passionate about throughout the project and it’s amazing that it is getting the recognition it deserves. The project started as a conversation piece, aiming to bring awareness to a taboo subject, and the Stannah award has enabled me to further spread this awareness to a wider audience. ”
The New Designers 2021 event runs virtually from 30 June to 10 July. For more information see http://newdesigners.com and newdesigners.com/awards/the-joseph-stannah-award
About New Designers
New Designers provides a unique platform for fresh design talent to connect with design educators, professionals and consumers, for creative exchange and collaboration. As the largest showcase of UK design graduates, New Designers connects the freshest talent with businesses looking to bring in new design thinking; buyers looking to source the most innovative craft and design; and aspiring students with the widest range of design courses available to explore. We provide two weeks of incredible design discovery; and break the boundaries between the different disciplines, with an increasing number of collaborations and new opportunities. You’ll discover new ideas, products, trends and talent. Beyond this, New Designers is a platform for discourse and debate, from social, political and environmental influences and challenges – to how we can use design to create a more sustainable future.
About Stannah and the Joseph Stannah Award
Stannah is a world leader in lifting products, supplying stairlifts, passenger lifts, vertical platform lifts, goods and service lifts. It is one of Britain’s leading engineering companies and remains an independent, family owned and run firm.
The Joseph Stannah Foundation (JSF) was established in 2017 to honour the founder and mark the 150th anniversary of the Stannah business. Joseph Stannah was a prolific and socially-aware engineer, driven to create safer and more reliable solutions for the engineering challenges of the day. The Foundation was created to encourage the same passion for and excellence in STEM topics across all sections of society today.
As part of the JSF programme, the Joseph Stannah Award recognises excellence in design amongst the New Designers attendees and is awarded to the most innovative, inclusive design that promotes independent living and addresses real life problems.