Since 2009, the Social Design Talent Award is awarded to a student from TU/e or Design Academy Eindhoven, who has developed a solution for a societal issue in the municipal domain through design. The jury could choose from 6 projects and this year the first prize went to Charlotte Kin’s Through Eyes.
“The aspects of our personalities we focus on, are the ones that grow,” says Charlotte Kin, who graduated from DAE’s Man and Leisure department last year. What does this mean for adolescents who keep hearing they are trouble, or are failing in school? With her project Through Eyes, Charlotte intends to counter the negative attention young people can face from their environment. For one whole day she offers the teen in question her undivided, open-minded attention. She takes pictures and writes them a letter. These are collected in a keepsake book that will make these kids aware of their good sides and help them present a different image.
With the prize of €10.000,- Charlotte can make her project accessible to more people on behalf of the municipality. Through Eyes also tries to ensure that parents see their child as a carefree child again.
In addition to Through Eyes, two other projects of VNO-NCW Brabant Zeeland were offered a coaching programme. One of them was Milou Bergs’ Graduation Project ‘Align’, a pop-up bike rack that folds away when it is not needed, she won the second prize. Milou Bergs graduated from the Man and Activity department of Design Academy Eindhoven.
“The public space is becoming cluttered, filled with functional necessities such as parking” says Milou Bergs. Even when not in use, they get in the way, creating physical and visual noise. Align is a sleek alternative for more serenity. It pops up only when needed. Like a see-saw, the front wheel sinks down, raising a bracket to hold and lock the back wheel. When the bike is removed, it disappears entirely, hidden flat inside the pavement. This flexibility means that the public space can once again be open, making room for events, markets or everyday life.
