May 27, 2021
APDesign's Hernán Gregorio earns honors at International A'Design Award and Competition
Hernán Gregorio, assistant professor and graduate director of industrial design in the interior architecture and industrial design department of the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University, received a Silver A' Design Award at the international design competition A'Design Award and Competition.
A' Design Award and Competition provides recipients with a worldwide platform to highlight their achievements and talents. The motto of the A' Design Awards is "Ars Futura Cultura," i.e., Arts Cultivate the Future, Arts for the Culture of Future. The vision is that the future is shaped by arts, design and technology, thus the need for good design for a better future.
The awarded product is a multifunctional work and desk manager that inspires a more organized, personalized, and productive work experience.
"The idea behind Balance is to use digital interfaces as inspiration to create a new hybrid experience for the user," Gregorio said. "The form and modular qualities of the design evoke the digital touchscreen interfaces we use every day but with a tridimensional layer that creates a tactile and tangible experience. This new approach builds a bridge between the connectivity and structure of the digital environment and the physical experience of product."
The product consists of a canvas and six types of modules — surface, whiteboard, cork, Kanban, time and shelf — that magnetically attach to the canvas. The users can pick and choose the modules and materials that work best for their personality, work style and aesthetic preference at the same time that they can combine them to allow the use of productivity techniques such as Kanban and Pomodoro.
The product is based on research examining people's personalities, workplace environments and workflows, as well as flexibility and work management strategies.
"While we are all trying to find balance in our day to day it is fantastic to see our faculty also pushing this agenda in their own research," said Professor Nathan Howe, head of the interior architecture and industrial design department. "Professor Gregorio's design reflects the type of creativity to innovate that we strive to imbue into our students' design process."
"I am honored to receive this award and I hope it inspires others to achieve a more balanced relationship between work and life, as well as reconsider our interaction with analog and digital interfaces," Gregorio said.
Gregorio is an industrial designer from Argentina. His design interests cover a wide range of fields, including furniture, smart devices, user experience, product semantics, design theory and design education. His current research focus is on industrial design, product semantics, entrepreneurship and education.
The A'Design Award and Competition Furniture Design Award is open to entries of products and projects including but not limited to furniture designs, household furniture, houseware, furniture accessories, interior objects and decorative items, white goods, home textiles, lighting as well as their marketing and communication.