Dezeen promotion: a shoe that leaves a trail of messages behind as you walk and a tool for leaving comments on newspapers have been named the first winners of Makerversity's protest-themed competition.

Creative co-working space Makerversity has revealed the first winners of its Tools for Change series ? a set of competitions looking at how design be used to tackle societal issues. 
Joint first place in the competition was Open-Source Editing, a project by designers and creatives Yun-Pei Hsiung, Matt Perhchard and Sabina Weiss.

This project mimics online liking and commenting tools, giving the public the power to engage with physical newspapers and magazines.

The designers came up with the concept in an attempt to provide more transparency between readers and the media. "News companies are biased ? people do not critically engage with facts as they believe in the newspaper?s authority," they said.

The makers also hoped that Open Source Editing could become a preventative tool in reducing "hate-fuelled" news.
"We wanted to give a physical platform for the public to be exposed to a variety of opinions allows for a better chance to understand each other?s point of view. This is a preventative tool for balancing conflicting views in the society and de-radicalising the news".

Designer Jacob Boasts' Stamp: A Protest Shoe was the second Tools for Change winner.
The device is attached to the back of a shoe and dispenses stickers as the wearer w...