Lincoln Students Receive International Recognition at World’s Longest Running Product Design Competition

Two students from the University of Lincoln, UK, were shortlisted at the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA) Awards 2024.

The RSA Student Design Awards are the world’s longest running product design competition and in 2024, the competition celebrates 100 years of recognising innovative ideas. Previous winners of the awards include Richard Howarth, VP of Design at Apple, Betty Jackson MBE, Fashion designer, and Matt McGrath, Aircraft Medical founder and inventor of the video laryngoscope.

Indianna Pritchard-Martin and Oliwia Ostaszewska were both shortlisted and Oliwia’s project titled Skin Deep was commended. Skin Deep is a collection of ceramic pieces that highlight the challenges faced by people of colour suffering from skin conditions.

During her studies at the University, Oliwia hand-crafted ceramic hands and painstakingly painted them to represent various skin conditions on darker skin tones. She designed promotional events and online campaigns to showcase the collection and raise awareness about the issue of representation in the field of dermatology.

Expanding on her inspiration, Oliwia said: “It started as a sculpting project to push myself as an artist/designer. However, the more I dived into research the more inconsistencies I found in the way people are treated. We live in the 21st Century and yet racial disparities are still apparent.

“That’s why I find myself responsible to use my privilege as a white woman to spread awareness about issues I myself was blind to. We live in a community, whether we feel close to those around us or not, and there’s a certain level of responsibility to make sure that every individual is treated with equal care. That’s what this project was inspired by – a need to close the gap in knowledge and to foster empathy.”

Oliwia also commended the University and said: “This project would have not been possible without the support I received from my tutor, Alexa. She has believed in this project from the very beginning, even when I myself didn’t believe it stood a chance against all the other contenders. For that I’m forever grateful!”

Indianna’s shortlisted project was titled HevCare: Providing a Helping Hand. HevCare is a friendly device and accompanying app designed to enable seamless voice messages between carers and older adults, improving mental and emotional well-being and facilitating a robust support network, reducing isolation.

Indianna explained that her mum works in an Independent Living Site for the elderly, and she wanted to design something to make life easier for both carers and the residents.

She commented: “I conducted interviews with older adults, carers and managers finding out what could be beneficial for this area in the healthcare industry.

“With managers like my mum and carers handling demanding workloads, effective communication with the older generation can be challenging. As carers move between sites, unpredictable situations can disrupt schedules, leading to delays and causing residents to worry. Additionally, residents often need reminders for medication, family visits, and social activities.

“The current systems can result in delays and miscommunication, impacting the quality of care. Carers need a reliable platform to keep their schedules organised, including events, updates on arrivals, medication reminders, and other essential tasks.”

Alexa Mottram, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Product Design at the University of Lincoln, said: “I am extremely proud of both Indianna and Oliwia whose hard work and creative flair have led to this international recognition of their projects.

“The RSA Student Design Awards receive thousands of entries from design students all over the world and the fact that two of our Lincoln students have achieved success is a testament to the excellent talent within the School of Design.”

Find out more about the awards here: Student Design Awards – The RSA – RSA