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Stacha Stuttering Experience Device by Yuka Fukuoka |
Home > Winners > Design #85848 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
YF: The STACHA is a device which enables wearers to experience the symptoms of stuttering. When a person with this disorder stutters, a distinguishing feature is an overactive usage of the muscles in the throat. Coming up with this device had a lot to do with my own stuttering issues as well as the strong awareness of the topic that comes with it. Additionally, when I was working with the University of Tokyo on a documentary about someone who took a job as school counselor despite her stuttering, I realized that she too, was suffering due to the low awareness towards stuttering disorders. I had an insight that told me it was essential to raise awareness around this invisible condition. In addition, Until now, innovative hardware and software focused on stuttering had not been developed. Social awareness of stuttering has also remained low, since almost all of the existing products deal with people who stutter. I realized that our device will shift the paradigm of stuttering and speech impediments as a whole, so I started to create STACHA device.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
YF: The device offers a very light experience that helps cultivate empathy towards people with unseen disabilities within regional communities. For instance, it is very likely for a stutterer to also suffer of anxiety disorders, but by using the wearable device, it is possible to spread awareness regarding this condition throughout the regional community and without relying on communication. Ultimately, once awareness towards stuttering has been raised, those who suffer the condition will feel less pressure when communicating with those who don't. And from there, we are planning to encourage sympathy towards the stutterers in the community. The difficult task of "understanding the disability" can instead become a fun experience, one that catches the interest of people regardless of age (which makes for an effective advertisement) and one that offers a fun learning opportunity. Simply by giving a body to something that can't be normally seen, you can draw the interest of the people quite easily.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
YF: Our next challenge is to address the safety issues regarding the use of the device by children, as quite many pointed out.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
YF: Myself suffering of stuttering was my initial motivation. Since stuttering is not very openly known, many people think you can treat it if you just keep trying, that it is a simple matter of mentality, and that it is caused by low intelligence.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
YF: Particularly, STACHA is focusing on people who have stuttering in Japan.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
YF: Arduino,C++, Eagle,Rhino, Keyshot, Fusion360, Illustrator,Photoshop, HTML,CSS, Javascript
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
YF: Until now, innovative hardware and software focused on stuttering had not been developed. Social awareness of stuttering has also remained low, since almost all of the existing products deal with people who stutter. Our device will shift the paradigm of stuttering and speech impediments as a whole.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
YF: I contacted my engineer friends, who approved of my idea and gathered together to start developing the device.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
YF: I had many opportunities to communicate with all the people who participate in a stuttering self-help group known as Tokyo Genyukai. I also interviewed people from stuttering circles in the University of Tokyo, as well as individuals who research stuttering disorder from a medical perspective.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
YF: It is likely that in the future, technology will solve the issues we once had as humankind by enhancing the abilities of our race. In other words, insights from interviews with designers and the imagination that arises from our own sketching minds will pinpoint the true essence of our problems, and offer solid solutions to tackle them with. This is will be exceedingly important in the times to come. I believe that wearable devices are an extremely effective solution that will help me continue tackling said challenges as a designer in those areas.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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