“REWIND” – A MEMORY TOOL FOR SENIORS – WINS THE 2022 LEXUS DESIGN AWARD

TOKYO, Japan (May 12, 2022) - Lexus announced today that “Rewind” by Poh Yun Ru has been selected as the winner of the 2022 LEXUS DESIGN AWARD; contributing to a better tomorrow through three core principles: Anticipate, Innovate, and Captivate.

Designed to evoke memories, “Rewind” uses a motion-tracking tool that guides seniors with dementia in re-enacting familiar gestures. These actions are then reflected as audio-visual feedback on a paired device that triggers recollection.

Poh Yun Ru is a socially engaged product designer who seeks to create a positive impact on society by improving the lives of others. Living in a culturally rich and diverse society, she sees design as a methodology to develop intuitive and inclusive solutions for people from all walks of life.

Following her nomination, Poh Yun Ru commented:

"I feel immensely grateful that Rewind is now a step closer to improving the lives of more people. This couldn't have happened without the unwavering support of my mentors, my team of dedicated engineers, programmers, healthcare experts, and users. This opportunity from LEXUS DESIGN AWARD to turn a project into a real-world product felt nothing short of amazing, and I feel heartened to have met and learned from so many passionate designers from around the world. It has been such a rewarding and inspiring journey, and I am excited to continue designing for a better world and a better tomorrow for all."

“Rewind” was selected among the 6 Finalists during an online event, where each of them presented their work in front of a panel of judges. At the end of the session, Paola Antonelli told of the overall importance of design in today’s world: “The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 finalists offer a wide range of products in different fields of design, employing different types of technology, but they all have one thing in common: care. Care for the environment, care for the elderly and differently able, care for the needs of families and communities, and more. They demonstrate that at a time of emergency in the world, design can offer suggestions that are poetic and beautiful, and also feasible and scalable. In the hands of great designers, doing the right thing—by society, the environment, the world—also becomes inspiring and elating.”

Anupama Kundoo and Bruce Mau commented on the Award's feature of mentorship: “I particularly enjoyed the unique feature of the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD, namely, that the talented visionary designers are first identified, and then supported personally in their further development through dedicated mentorship.”  Kundoo said, while Mau commented, “The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD’s process, where the finalists are connected to design mentors, is absolutely brilliant. And the impact was plainly evident in the final submissions.”

Simon Humphries praised all finalists for their creativity and imagination in addressing the judging criteria: “The power of creativity and its ability to enrich people’s lives never ceases to amaze me and this year’s entries only reinforced this further. Congratulations to all the finalists who showed such imaginative insights into challenging problems that many just take for granted.”

The six LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 finalists' projects will be presented at the Lexus exhibit at Milan Design Week 2022, the world's largest design event, to be held in early June.

* For more information, please visit LEXUS DESIGN AWARD.com 

Official Hashtag: #lexusdesignaward

| ABOUT LEXUS DESIGN AWARD

Launched in 2013, the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD is an international competition for up-and-coming creators from around the world. The Award seeks to contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose work shows potential to shape a better future. Six finalists gain a rare opportunity to prototype their designs under the mentorship of leading designers. The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD provides global media exposure to drive professional career advancement.

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