INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
FRIENDLY PROTECTOR
March 2020
Friendly Protector is a redesigned protective suit that is gender inclusive, comfprtable and effective, designed in March 2020, in response to the severe COVID-19 outbreak, where PPE shortage became a world-wide problem.
For health workers who serve at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak, a reliable safety security approach that accommodates a highly effective clinical environment, the resource limited settings and the consideration of user-friendliness is a priority and an urgent need. As an industrial designer, I not only feel empathy with people who risk their lives fighting against disease, but also observe an urgent need to improve and redesign the PPE.
01 /CONTEXT
“First, all countries must prioritize protecting health workers.”
—— WHO Director - General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19
(24 Feb, 2020)
You might not see and notice,
but this is how they looked like at the start of COVID-19.
A collage of front-line health workers portrait in Jan, 2020
PROBLEM STATEMENT
(last updated in May, 2020)
My statement proposal posted on Instagram, Jan 31, 2020
WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Covid-19 is now in 50 countries, and things are getting worse. Up to now, 332,935 cases have been confirmed and the trend is becoming critical that more and more cases are showing up around the world.
However, first-line health workers who have been fighting against the pandemic are facing the serious emergency of the shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE). Thanks to the shortage of single-use hazmat suits and face masks, hospitals have to make their own rough equipment using plastic bags and nonwoven fabric. What's worse, over 4500 medical workers have been infected while treating patients and the situation hasn't been alleviated yet.
When facing global pandemic, all countries - no matter highly developed or developing, could be in resource-limited settings, which is one of the most critical challenges right now. The existing market of PPE is relatively small, centralized and material-based. Few address the user experience of health workers and more importantly, sustainable practice, which is the indirect cause of emergency resource shortage.
KEY PAIN POINTS
02
/DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
IDEATION
/ SKETCH
/ TESTING
Beta sketch prototype testing
/ FINAL PRODUCT SKETCH
/ KEY FEATURES
The redesigned protective suit contains the following features:
1. All-in-one face shield with headset support and breather valve that help release the pressure on face and neck;
2. Double zipper opening that is easier to put-on and take-off;
3. Sktechy fabric mechanism that fits multiple body sizes.
( Ideal material for the suit is silver-based fabric or HP reusable fabric.)
03
/PROTOTYPING
/ PROTOTYPING PROCESS
/ FEATURES
