The Best Design Awards are a major feature of the local design calendar and some of last year's winners have toured the country to offer first-hand insights into their projects.
The 2021 series was recorded on video. Here is one from the series of twenty recorded.
DINZ Interview
Best of the Best Designers Speak® - Video - Hello Cup
Hello Cup
Robyn McLean & Mary Bond
In an upbeat and entertaining presentation, a former journalist and a nurse spoke about how they came upon the idea of redesigning the menstrual cup, a product which, according to them, had not changed much since its inception in the 1930s.
They discussed some of the taboos around the subject, the limitations of existing products (i.e only coming in a clear colour which lead to staining and the cup having ridges, which could cause bacterial build up).
They also discussed how a cup has immense environmental repercussions seeing as users are likely to only need eight of them in their lifetime, rather than the single use products currently favoured by the market.
Mary Bond & Robyn McLean, Hello Cup
The pair went on to outline their research (buying every cup out there, according to the presenters) and how they went on to create a brand that talks about the subject of menstruation in an approachable, open and friendly way.
They outlined a relatively short development process (from June to December of 2017) which lead them to re-imagine the material of the cup (thermoplastic elastomer) the presentation (full of colours and packaged in energetic patterns and designs) and a whimsical and approachable website technique which allows users to change the word ‘vagina’ for whatever term they feel more comfortable with and the system would change the term throughout the entire site.
The pair confessed to being pleasantly surprised at how well the product has been received.
Thanks Designworks for the pre-drinks venue
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