Promotion: a pressure-technology waistcoat by Janne Kreimer that aims to tackle anxiety and depression has won the 2024 Rimowa Design Prize.
The competition is intended to champion the best examples where design and innovation combine to form ideas that lead to meaningful change on big global issues.
Kreimer, a student from Anhalt University in Germany, was presented with the trophy and a ?20,000 prize at a ceremony at the James Simon Gallery in Berlin.
Janne Kreimer was the winner of this year's Rimowa Design Prize
Kreimer's winning design was a black tank-styled waistcoat, called Ro, which was designed to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, creating a calming effect.
The waistcoat was made from TPU-coated nylon fabric and equipped with "soft robots," Rimowa said. It stimulates the body's acupressure points by applying pressure to them. "As acupressure points' localisation varies based on body shape, age, and gender, RO employs a body scan to create a 3D digital model, which adjusts point distances using algorithmic controls to ensure precise targeting," Rimowa said.
The ceremony took place at the James Simon Gallery in Berlin
Kreimer said the motivation behind her winning design lay in her desire to address her own frequent experiences of feeling helpless.
"It stemmed from my personal need to find tools to learn to deal with my own fears, insecurities, and overwhelming nervousness," she told Dezeen.
"Most fears originate in our ...