1998 ASA Design Award Winners

Manufactured by: KraftMaid Cabinetry Inc.
Designed by: In-house design team
Passport Series Cabinetry is designed to be useful to and useable by people of all ages and abilities. The product incorporates many key tenets of universal design, including a sink base that allows seated use, but conceals plumbing; base cabinets with roll-out trays for easy access; back-beveled doors that enhance ease of access; and shelving with low voltage lighting to illuminate the interior of the cabinets.

Manufactured by: RCR International
Designed by: Pat Gasparre
The Hose-Rench is a new product that makes it easier to tighten a garden hose to an outdoor water spigot attached to a wall. The product's large rubber grip can be grasped without difficulty, allowing for easy tightening and loosening at the spigot. The opposite end of the Hose-Rench, which extends several inches from the exterior wall, connects conveniently to a standard garden hose.

Manufactured by: Electric Mobility Corporation
Designed by: In-house design team
The Rascal Power Wheelchair is a programmable power wheelchair that represents an all-new design. The product's balanced four-wheel design incorporates a full automotive-type suspension system, including rear leaf springs, to provide users a stable and comfortable ride on a variety of surfaces. Customers can choose from two different power trains, two controllers and three wheel-size configurations. The Rascal Power Wheelchair boasts a top speed of 4 to 6.5 miles per hour and is capable of traveling up to 35 miles on a single charge.

Manufactured by: County Line Limited, LLC
Designed by: In-house design team
The CPR Prompt Home Learning System includes an adult/child practice manikin and an infant practice manikin, a video course and a supplemental learning guide. The system allows users to learn and review CPR and choking first aid at home at their own pace, which is particularly important for the mature consumer. The CPR Prompt videotape follows guidelines set by the American Heart Association for CPR and choking first aid for adults, children and infants.

Manufactured by: ReBike Division, Huffy Bicycles
Designed by: In-house design team
The ReTrike is a three-wheeled, recumbent bicycle, designed for maximum comfort with an extra-wide padded seat and back rest. Adjustable handlebars allow users to position their hands comfortably, reducing stress and pressure on the wrist. ReTrike's low frame is attractive to design-sensitive consumers, because it eliminates the need to raise one's leg high over the frame when getting on or off the bike. The product also features multi-directional seat adjustment and a removable utility basket.

Manufactured by: HEWI, Inc.
Designed by:In-house design team
HEWI's Splash Protection Curtain Unit is a wall-mounted double-support shower rail made of nylon with steel inserts in the rail and the mounting base. The flexible end section of the unit swivels 45 degrees to either side, allowing enhanced accessibility to the shower area for attendants in long-term care environments while controlling the splashing of water. The Splash Protection Curtain Unit extends 37 inches from the wall and lifts for easy access to the shower area and for storage. The product is available in any of HEWI's 12 standard colors, with curtains available in four coordinated designs.

Produced by: Lorabear Productions
Developed by: Vitality/Keith Wittstock
Vitality C Strength Training for Older Adults is a 48-minute video developed by Keith Wittstock, a certified senior fitness instructor and personal trainer. The training program is designed to help mature adults improve their strength, energy, bone density, flexibility and balance. Necessary stretching techniques for the neck, shoulders and lower back are first demonstrated, followed by lower-body resistance exercises to build strength in the legs. Hand weights are used to build upper-body strength, and cool down stretches complete the workout.

Manufactured by:Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company
Designed by:In-house design team
The Dirt Devil RoomMate is a lightweight upright vacuum designed for smaller homes or apartments or for use as a second vacuum. The RoomMate's design puts most of its weight in the nozzle, not the handle, making it easy to maneuver around furniture and walls. The RoomMate weighs less than six pounds, so it feels almost weightless during use and is easy to carry up and down stairs. The removable clear plastic dust cup allows the user to see when it is time to empty the unit and eliminates the need for vacuum bags.

Manufactured by: Knobbles
The Knobbles Doorknob Twister is a soft thermoplastic sleeve with 18 ridges that make gripping and turning doorknobs easier. The product is manufactured in a clear Dynaflex material that assumes the shape of the doorknob and will stretch to 400 percent of its size. Knobbles are also useful on faucets handles, gear shifts, tool handles and bottles with twist closures.

Manufactured by: Harold Footer, Suburbanite Industries
Designed by: Robert Cann, Cann Associates
The Step-On-It Dust Pan is a molded plastic dustpan that incorporates a foot plate under the handle, allowing the user to hold and manipulate the product with a minimal amount of foot pressure. To provide additional strength, the foot plate connects to the end of the handle and the back of the pan in one molded piece. The bottom of the pan is arched slightly so that foot pressure pulls the flexible lip against the floor, preventing dirt from being swept under the pan.

Manufactured by: Conair Corporation
Designed by: Firehouse Design
The FM480 is a refined addition to the big button telephone market. The product's sloping curves give it an updated look compared to the Aboxy@ big button telephones that have dominated the market for many years. The contoured handset of the FM480 is designed to fit comfortably in the hand. In addition to its big buttons, the product features six programmable priority speed dials, last number redial, receiver and ringer volume controls and a mute function.

Platinum Award

EZ ON DRESSING AID

Uri Wolf
Product Design Department
Parsons School of Design, New York
The EZ On Dressing Aid is designed to assist older adults and other people with arthritis or limited movement with putting on coats, jackets and shirts. The product consists of a vertical rail mounted on a wall or closet door and an adjustable mounting bracket that rides on the vertical rail. The bracket is a bent tube that imitates the helping hands of another person, with clips on each end to hold the garment open. The height can be adjusted by simply pulling on a handle, allowing the device to be used by people of varying heights. The bracket also can rotate to either side so that one sleeve-hole is positioned lower than the other, which makes putting on the second sleeve easier.

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Gold Award

EASY BUTTON

Akina Kurihara
Product Design Department
Parsons School of Design, New York
Easy Button is a retrofitted fastener system designed for people who have difficulty with standard clothing buttons. The system transforms an existing button and hole with a simple velcro connection to make dressing easier. At the same time, it maintains the garment's appearance, eliminating the visual stigma often associated with special closures.

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Silver Award

EZ KICK

Richard Wong
Industrial Design, University of Alberta
The EZ Kick is an adapted flutterboard, an aquatic device used by mature adults to reduce the exertion required for swimming by minimizing upper extremity involvement. Using the basic tombstone flutterboard for extended periods often causes shoulder and neck strain. Most mature adults have decreased muscle strength, so the typical flutterboard is even more difficult for them to use. The EZ Kick addresses these limitations by incorporating grooves for the forearms and palms to promote proper arm and hand placement and to allow for a comfortable resting position.

PILL CRUSHER

Wade Weber and Zsolt Kovacs
Industrial Design, University of Alberta
The Pill Crusher allows for near effortless crushing of pills. The product consists of three basic components: the base, where the pill is placed; a plunger with an integrated crushing head; and a spring located on the plunger. The base and plunger are made of plastic hard enough to crush any pill and easily cleaned with soap and water. The stainless steel spring moves the plunger back to its original position after each downward motion.

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Bronze Award

THE BOOK BUDDY

Van Konrad and Anna Tse
Industrial Design, University of Alberta
The Book Buddy is a portable, compact, multi-directional and multi-purpose book and page holder that will function in a variety of settings. The product is useful in private and public spaces, professional and manufacturing environments, and long-term care communities. It consists of three major components: a book holder, an arm and a clamp. Key product features include a battery-operated light that switches on when the book cover is lifted, a ledge on the book holder to support books and magazines, handles located on each side, swivel legs for desktop operation and an arm attachment.

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Honorable Mention

BATH SEAT

Peter Fiala, Conor MacNeil, Peter Sangra and Paul Pybus
Industrial Design and Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta
The Bath Seat is designed to make relaxing in the bath a more comfortable experience. The design was completed with a focus on the mature consumer, but it is transgenerational in its appeal and usefulness. It concentrates on easing the curve at the end of the bathtub opposite the faucet where people most commonly sit. The design team also incorporated a slight eight-degree rise and form fitting at the middle of the tub for the buttocks.

THE 10TH ANNUAL NEW PRODUCTS AND DESIGN FOR MATURE MARKETS DESIGN COMPETITION IS COSPONSORED AND COORDINATED BY PROMATURA GROUP, OXFORD, MS. ASA wishes to thank the judges in this year's contest:
Keith Brightbill, Senior Project Manager, Rubbermaid, Winchester, Va., Margaret Christenson, MPH, OTR, FAOTA, President, Lifease, Inc., New Brighton, Minn., Anne Morris, Geriatric Consultant, Independent Living Solutions, Inc., Springfield, Va.

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