Eleven modern designs shortlisted in Dezeen and Samsung's Re:Create Design Problem

Wearable well being trackers for pets, AI-powered clip-on cameras for the visually impaired and a wildfire detection system are amongst 11 designs shortlisted in Dezeen and Samsung’s Re:Create Design Problem.
Entrants from greater than 45 international locations all over the world entered the competition, which challenged contributors to give you artistic concepts to repurpose outdated Samsung units or supplies and rework them into new services or products.
The competitors happened as a part of Samsung’s ongoing efforts to make its enterprise extra sustainable. It sought to find modern new ideas that enhance folks’s lives in significant methods and have a optimistic affect on the planet, utilizing outdated Samsung units or supplies.
The finalists had been decided by an skilled panel comprising Dezeen editors and design professionals who had been on the lookout for artistic concepts which have a optimistic social and environmental affect, suggest significant options to folks’s lives, and resonate with the approach to life of Samsung customers.
A complete of 11 designs have now been shortlisted and are within the working for a share of the £18,000 prize pot. The finalists shall be revealed in October.
The winner will win the highest prize of £10,000, whereas the 2 runner-ups will obtain £4,000 every.
The shortlisted entries are listed under within the order that they had been submitted.
Reminiscence Capsule by Eunsu Lee
Incheon, South Korea
Eunsu Lee proposed a recycling marketing campaign known as Reminiscence Capsule, wherein discarded smartphones can be repurposed into USB units that retailer recollections equivalent to pictures, movies and different knowledge from outdated telephones.
The idea was created in response to Lee’s findings that customers are reluctant to eliminate outdated smartphones as they do not need to lose the recollections saved inside them.
To handle this, Lee designed a easy gadget that serves as a time capsule to protect recollections. Its type is paying homage to medical capsules, as a playful tackle its identify.
When the gadget is in use, an LED textual content show on the product floor begins to glow, highlighting the yr the primary knowledge on the discarded smartphone dates again to. The information can be accessed by means of a retro-inspired design programme to evoke a way of nostalgia, permitting customers to revisit cherished recollections at any time.
The packaging of the gadget can be crafted from recycled pulp, whereas the metals and plastics used within the USB can be extracted from discarded smartphones. The gadget’s clear cap can be constructed from recycled polycarbonate, which might be sourced from discarded fishing nets.
“Reminiscence Capsule not solely promotes materials circulation but in addition appeals to customers’ feelings,” Lee mentioned. “It encourages their participation in saving the planet and fosters optimistic model and product perceptions.”

Frequent Sands Forite by Studio Plastique, Snøhetta and Fornace Brion
Brussels, Belgium
Frequent Sands Forite is a set of recycled glass tiles constructed from glass elements present in discarded ovens and microwave ovens. The tiles had been designed by Norwegian studio Snøhetta, Belgian designers Studio Plastique and Italian producer Fornace Brioni.
The tiles had been designed to deal with the rising volumes of digital waste and silicate shortage. The gathering goals to leverage the distinctive properties, composition and color of e-waste glass, which presently is harder to recycle, regardless of glass being a extremely recyclable materials.
Reworking sand into gadgets equivalent to microchips, photo voltaic cells, aerogel, insulation and extra requires a rigorous strategy of extracting, refining and processing, however little is completed to recycle these supplies after they attain the top of their lifecycle.
To counter this, the designers suggest repurposing these missed and under-recycled elements right into a collection of architectural glass tiles. The Forite tiles are partially translucent, which makes them appropriate for dividers for inside areas and semi-transparent exterior partitions.
“The venture showcases {that a} round method to our materials world will be designed with out compromising on aesthetic, qualitative and human values,” the designers mentioned.
“With the purpose of making sustainable, good and refined architectural merchandise, the venture creates new worth for an considerable but unexploited group of supplies.”

Intersist Harness by Sohee Chung, Dong Solar Shin and Seung Hwan Ra
Seoul, South Korea
Sohee Chung, Dong Solar Shin and Seung Hwan Ra proposed repurposing Samsung Galaxy watches to create Intersist Harness, a sensible harness for information canines to offer visually impaired people with a way of caring for his or her companion.
Intersist Harness would utilise the bioactive sensors present in Galaxy watches to trace the canine’s well being and notify the proprietor if any well being points come up that require consideration. The semiconductors can be collected by means of a Samsung recycling programme, which negates further prices in manufacturing.
From a younger age, every information pet can be given a small coaching harness that information their biorhythm all through their schooling and progress. The information can be despatched to a coach to analyse the canine’s traits, strolling tempo and bodily well being. The gathered knowledge later would turn out to be the criterion for which affected person the canine is assigned to.
The function the gadget performs in matching information canines to sufferers would improve compatibility between the 2 companions from the very starting. Many good units for the visually impaired deal with a technological method, nonetheless, Intersist Harness goals to shift the main target to strengthen the connection between the proprietor and the information canine.
“The existence of a sensible gadget makes steady care potential and it resolves the linguistic barrier the information canine had by means of extra simple interplay,” the designers mentioned.

Samsung Innovate & Be taught Package by Raman Rathour
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, India
Raman Rathour proposed an academic package that introduces college students to electronics, coding and know-how by means of repurposing elements from outdated Samsung units.
The idea goals to divert digital waste from landfills and contribute to a round economic system, the place helpful sources are reused to ignite curiosity and foster creativeness amongst college students.
The kits would come with important elements equivalent to circuit boards, sensors and LEDs that allow college students to construct and experiment. This would supply them with a hands-on studying expertise and allows them to realize a greater understanding of know-how and engineering rules.
Together with the kits, interactive studying supplies would information college students by means of coding tutorials to help them in creating important pondering, problem-solving and programming abilities.
“Samsung’s philosophy of innovation and dedication to sustainability is superbly mirrored on this initiative,” Rathour mentioned. “It not solely repurposes outdated units, but in addition fosters a brand new technology of creators and downside solvers.”

Beta Electronics by Kristina Betha Suwarso
London, UK
One other instructional package shortlisted is Beta Electronics, created by Kristina Betha Suwarso. The package was designed to provide client electronics a second life to “sustainably decolonise and democratise client electronics”.
Customers may donate outdated Samsung units to be salvaged for components, which might then be remodeled into new objects that encourage schooling round client electronics sustainably and affordably.
With a deal with reusing what’s already accessible at hand, the Beta Electronics package goals to encourage customers to scan their very own salvaged finds with an AI scanner that makes suggestions on how you can give the objects a second life.
Every package would supply customers detailed tips of how you can create on a regular basis objects, equivalent to MP3 gamers or climate machines to be frolicked of home windows to assist customers determine probably the most weather-appropriate outfit for the day.
“A beta model is a pre-release of software program or a product that gathers suggestions and improves earlier than the official launch,” Suwarso mentioned. “Equally, my design options are a piece in progress, embracing steady iteration as people and know-how evolve.”

Photo voltaic Lookout by Abi Lambert, Cade Thurlby, Karl Wagner and Tyler Boshard
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The Photo voltaic Lookout is a wildfire detection system composed of recycled Samsung smartphones and powered by renewable vitality and AI, supposed to scale back the time elapsed between the start of the hearth and when it’s detected.
In line with the designers, wildfire-detection know-how is in its nascent levels, with human reporting being the most typical means that wildfires are detected. Some detection methods utilise real-time satellite tv for pc imagery, however are sometimes tough to realize entry to, significantly in wildfire-prone areas equivalent to Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Australia.
The Photo voltaic Lookout units can be located in wildfire-prone zones and sit 10 ft above floor. At this top, the repurposed Samsung smartphone cameras would detect abnormalities equivalent to fires or smoke within the panorama that it could be skilled to detect utilizing AI.
The units would function and talk by way of a mesh community and have the ability to report knowledge equivalent to climate patterns and air high quality.
Every gadget can be fitted with a 50-watt photo voltaic panel on the prime of the pole to generate energy whereas concurrently offering shade to stop the gadget from overheating. To mitigate difficult lighting situations, the units would maintain area for a Samsung energy financial institution to accommodate in a single day utilization.
“By creating efficient and simply adaptable early detection and warning methods we are able to affect populations all over the world,” the designers mentioned. “Decreasing forest fires means decreasing folks displaced instantly due to the hearth and decreasing carbon spitting again into the environment.”

InSight by Merve Nur Sökmen and Ayberk Köle
İzmir, Turkey
Merve Nur Sökmen and Ayberk Köle designed a wearable gadget to help the visually impaired by offering AI-powered audio descriptions of their environment in actual time.
Known as InSight, the gadget would connect to the person’s clothes to supply a discreet and hands-free expertise. It will be simply related with smartphones and headphones from which personalised audio descriptions are fed to the person.
The wearable good gadget was designed to foster a safer navigation expertise for the visually impaired, empowering them with larger confidence, autonomy and entry to the world round them.
InSight can be composed of repurposed components taken from outdated Samsung smartphones, earbuds and watches. Every gadget can be outfitted with wide-angle cameras, user-friendly contact management by way of haptic suggestions and AI know-how to offer an intuitive navigation system.
“InSight’s problem-solving method revolves round person ease, consolation and personalisation, making it a dependable and empowering answer for every day life,” the designers mentioned.
“The gadget goals to revolutionise the lives of visually impaired people by selling independence, mobility and entry to info.”

Djuro’s Story by Barbara Babic and Zvonimir Medin
Lovran, Croatia
Barbara Babic and Zvonimir Medin’s proposal tells the story of an brisk 70-year outdated named Djuro who lives on a picturesque Croatian island with a dwindling inhabitants known as Unije.
The story illustrates Djuro’s imaginative and prescient of a totally self-sustainable island, which is already making progress by means of the creation of a photovoltaic solar energy plant and battery storage system that would supply provide year-round vitality.
Beginning at residence, Djuro created a solar-powered cell phone charger made utilizing an outdated non-working Samsung music system from 1991 discovered at a neighborhood recycling yard. The charger allows Djuro to fish in distant coves off the grid.
The cellphone charger consists of an outdated turntable, which rotates the photo voltaic panel to offer optimum angles all through the day. Djuro makes use of the cassette deck’s sliding door to offer mud safety, whereas the CD tray protects the wi-fi charger when not in use.
“Djuro’s photo voltaic charger illuminates a mannequin for the world the place renewal lies in reimagining the forgotten treasures of yesterday,” the designers mentioned. “The social affect radiates by means of Unije and past.”

Galaxy Loop by Hayong Kim and Saun Park
Seoul, South Korea
Hayong Kim and Saun Park designed Galaxy Loop, a pet healthcare wearable gadget constructed from recycled Galaxy watches.
The gadget was proposed by the designers in response to their findings that digital units are sometimes changed earlier than their lifespan is over. The Galaxy Loop units would make use of elements equivalent to bioactive sensors from practical however no-longer-needed Galaxy watches.
The sensors would allow pet house owners to actively monitor their pets’ well being by monitoring their exercise, coronary heart fee, physique temperature, sleep time and completely different emotional states. The gadget may detect numerous ailments earlier by means of analysing the pet’s sounds by way of a microphone.
The units can be outfitted with GPS and NFC tags that allow house owners to expeditiously find them if misplaced. The Galaxy Loop units can be water and mud resistant and had been designed with sturdy supplies to stop it from being simply broken by the pet’s on a regular basis actions.
“For ageing pets and caring house owners, Galaxy Loop will help pet mother and father preserve their companions wholesome,” the designers mentioned. “Folks and their pets can keep wholesome collectively for an extended time whereas being sustainable for the planet.”

Robin by Landor & Fitch
London, UK
Design studio Landor & Fitch created a modular package that allows youngsters to construct their very own merchandise. Known as Robin, the journey accent was designed to encourage out of doors exploration, educate youngsters about how merchandise are made and instil optimistic recycling behaviours from a younger age.
The gadget would make use of elements from outdated Samsung units equivalent to cameras, audio system, LEDs and printed circuit boards which can be repurposed into modular components that may be assembled collectively to type numerous merchandise equivalent to a digital camera, fan and torch.
The package would features a child-safe screw instrument designed for small arms, which can be utilized to open and shut a panel that conceals 5 colour-coded wire connectors that may be simply slotted into one another and are interchangeable relying on the gadget that the person is creating.
The gadget would encompasses a energy consumption dial for instance how a lot energy every module makes use of in a bid to teach youngsters on the facility utilization of assorted units.
“This modern product brings pleasure by partaking and educating younger youngsters within the wonders of design and engineering, and fosters environmentally acutely aware mindsets,” the designers mentioned.
“Its significant affect can problem the notion that every part should at all times be model new.”

Galaxy Related by Amowa Design
São José dos Pinhais, Brazil
Riorgior Ranger, Fabiana Westphal and Robert Renoir Ranger of Amowa Design up to date a traditional public phone field into a up to date cellphone sales space that gives customers web entry and to make video and cellphone calls to wherever on the planet.
Known as Galaxy Related, the idea would see outdated or undesirable Samsung smartphones and tablets reused in public areas all through cities and distant areas. This is able to allow web entry and video calling to those that have restricted entry or want connection in emergency conditions, equivalent to homeless folks, these in distant areas or these from decrease earnings backgrounds.
The modular design of the cubicles signifies that a number of configurations will be clustered collectively.
The dome of the sales space can be constructed from rotomolded recycled plastic and the bottom is product of metallic, chosen for its extremely recyclable high quality. Electrical energy can be generated from a photovoltaic panel.
“Galaxy Related is a approach to join folks with different folks all over the world,” the designers mentioned. “Utilizing outdated Samsung cell telephones and tablets, these folks will have the ability to have video entry with household, mates, medical doctors, academics and metropolis info.”
Partnership content material
The Re:Create Design Problem is a partnership between Dezeen and Samsung. Discover out extra about Dezeen partnership content material right here.