Group Photo of Universal Design Idea Competition Winners
Eunjin Kwon (School of Content Convergence Design) and Jiyoung Hong (School of Global Entrepreneurship and ICT) students from Handong Global University have been awarded the grand prize in the 5th Universal Design Idea Award.
Organized by the Department of Universal Design Environment of the Korea Disabled People's Development Institute, this event, now in its 5th year, aims to expand the scope of 'Universal Design' or 'Design for All,' a design that can satisfy the demands of various user groups as part of a new design mindset and to create empathy.
The competition includes categories such as architecture, tourism, and products, allowing participation by individuals or teams. Handong Global University secured the grand prize in the product category with the theme 'eatqo,' an app designed to provide essential information for the use of meal cards for malnourished children.
Focusing on various issues arising from malnourished children using meal cards, the Handong team proposed an app to reduce unexpected situations during the payment process. They ensured easy and quick access to information needed before payment and simplified the payment process, making it more comfortable for malnourished children to use meal cards and subsidies. This initiative aimed to allow all malnourished children to visit meal card-affiliated stores without feeling burdened and purchase food effortlessly.
The winning students expressed their thoughts, saying, "We made efforts to identify practical issues faced by malnourished children by directly interviewing owners of Good Influence Shops and teachers at child welfare centers. We learned a lot by finding evidence and applying the design process. In the future, we need to continue showing interest and making efforts for the successful implementation of universal design values for everyone."
