Design Group Italia receives the Red Dot Award 2018 for D-Heart

We are happy to announce that we’ve received the Red Dot Award for our product design of the ECG device D-Heart.

D-Heart is a small, portable device that allows anyone to perform a hospital grade ECG, anywhere. The device is connected to a smartphone app, that guides you throughout the entire process. It is connected to a telecardiology service through which you receive feedback from your doctors. This is how it works:

We helped D-Heart turn their idea into a reality by designing both their digital app, physical device and packaging. Starting with in-depth research, including personas, scenarios, stakeholder mapping and user experience testing, we set ourselves in the shoes of the users – the patients, and the doctors and volunteers working for NGOs in developing countries that are also likely to use the device – and advocated for their needs throughout the design process.

The product design of the device balances trust with friendliness. We wanted the look and feel of the device to signal that it is ‘easy to approach’ and not intimidating, if D-Heart is a complex medical device. The neutral colors were chosen to instill trust – the device is clinically tested and gives hospital-grade results.

D-Heart features a new, innovative mechanism that allows the user to wind up all the cables at once, or one at a time, and in any order. The function is simple and intuitive to use, but complex to design and engineer. When developing it, we looked far and wide, e.g. to ski pass mechanics, before finally creating a solution that is entirely new.

For optimal functionality, we created a neck strap that could be easily put on, even by someone with limited mobility. We also designed a thermoform molded fabric case to protect the device when it’s not in use. An innovative wireless battery charger imbedded within the case charges the product when stored. It also has a built-in smartphone stand, since it’s not possible to hold a smartphone if using the device alone.

Established in 1955, the Red Dot Design Award is one of the most important design awards in the world, awarded by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. There are prize categories for product design, design agencies, and design concepts. Winning products are presented in the Red Dot Design Museum on the premises of the historical Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, and in Red Dot Design Museum Taipei, opened in 2013. This year’s award ceremony will take place on July 9.

Congratulations to the entire team!