COVID-19 RELIEF : A FACE SHIELD DESIGN.
With the abrupt rise in COVID-19 Cases in Maharashtra, India, the medical infrastructures and the government was already under a great strain to cope up with the increasing demand of the PPE kits for the frontline warriors. An approximate estimate of 14 lakhs PPE kits was required to fulfill the demands.Many rose to the occasion and contributed to this cause.
Following is one such project that I undertook amidst the pandemic and fulfilled my role as an Industrial Designer for social impact.
It was a COVID-19 relief project done for ‘Nerkar Education and Research Trust’ a
non-profit organisation based in Mumbai.The project aimed at providing the COVID-19 frontline warriors with a better and efficient face shield for protection against the virus infection.
A rapid prototyping process was carried out amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It started with the study of avaialble data on the internet and with contextual interviews of the Frontline warriors, who helped us gain an insight on the key pain points.
The fogging of shield,difficulties in using the head strap of the existing face shields with the PPE kits and lack of proper covering of the face and comfort were few of the pain points mentioned by the frontline warriors.
A simple hairband worked as an inspiration.The product was envisioned to don a high rise forehead protector that could offer heightened protection to the forehead whereas the flexible headband was made to fit snug on any user,making it easier to wear and remove the face shield thus adding up to a better user experience by minimising the hassle one could encounter while wearing a traditional face shield with head straps.The addition of a chin protector offered an extra protection for the users.
Finding opportunities in adversities to give it back to the community has been the driving force during this tenure of the Face Shield Design project.
