1 post tagged “design”

Peter Haythornthwaite of creativelab in New Zealand has won a Gold Award in the 2007 IDEA awards, which are sponsored by BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America.

The light-operated mouse and keyboard system he designed, marketed by LOMAK International (NZ), enables people to work or play on a PC without using their arms. Its usefulness runs the gamut from those with carpal tunnel syndrome to those who have more severe physical impairments such as cerebral palsy or quadriplegia.

In his article "Niche Design for Global Markets" in the Spring 2007 edition of Innovation, Haythornthwaite wrote:

Following the product’s 2005 launch, Mark Bagshaw, chair of the Ability Australia Foundation, chair of the Australian Federal Government Employers Roundtable and manager for the IBM Australia/New Zealand Accessibility Centre, made this comment, “You probably don’t understand how significant LOMAK is. You have designed a product that makes disabled people feel normal. It has given them freedom [to think and communicate via computer].”

And my, is it ever a thing of beauty!

Peter Haythornthwaite studied design at the University of Auckland and the University of Illinois at Champaign–Urbana. Besides being the principal of his Auckland design company, he is an adjunct professor of design at Victoria University, Wellington. Recognized as "a pillar of New Zealand design", Haythornthwaite has won many awards both locally and internationally.