HEALTH by DESIGN | The Future of Healthcare

To deliver a feature event for Melbourne Design Week a central accessible venue was required. Monash College in Docklands was ideal.

The curatorial stage selected nineteen projects to be featured in the exhibition.

Our sustainable design practice informed the exhibition design and design process at all times. The first site inspection identified the potential to reduce carbon footprint if we could gain access to an existing 18m x 2m digital screen near our allocated space and also use a well lit foyer area. We negotiated successfully to include these additional spaces, and began design concepts for the layout plan and potential user experience solutions.

Concepts were developed with a scale model and plan layout to explore traffic flow and site lines for visual impact. The dramatic interior architectural elements of the venue inspired the exhibition design identity.

A prominent position was required for the large Mobile CT Brain Scanner and 3D printed scale model of the ambulance. The final exhibition plan located these objects under the X lights in the foyer for maximum impact and as a result no hired spot lighting was required. Display cases were included to securely present small prototypes and the remainder of the projects were featured as motion graphics on the digital wall and also in the NOW BOARDING on demand user experience. Motion graphics and new high resolution visuals for all projects were commissioned and over 25 minutes of new digital content was delivered.

Airport graphic elements like the flip board motion graphics, departure board and queue lane bollards evolved during the development stage.

The use of full size immersive digital content exploited the huge screen and eliminated the need to include several large existing prototypes. No transport, packing, shipping or installation and zero carbon footprint given the LED screen was always in use.

Inspired by the interior architecture of Monash College a dot theme emerged as a site specific design solution for HEALTH by DESIGN. The dots rained down as motion graphics, formed the typography, logo and visual identity, featured in the printed brochures and were used as design elements in the display case panels and large circular podiums.

The significant amount of immersive motion graphics delivered exciting, visually rich and powerful content that enhanced the concept of the future in THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE. The sequences of dots raining down and the art direction of a variety of compositions exploiting aesthetics and scale delighted the audience and engaged them in the narrative of the innovative devices and services. The more than 25 minutes of new digital content was commissioned and developed to exploit the 18m media wall. A human centred approach allowed users to experience years of impactful research. Our creative response to human scale and visual perception considerations of the large screen delivered digital sequences designed to engage the audience and communicate the research in a rich immersive experience. The screen allowed arrival into the space of a full size ambulance. The screen transported the audience into an airport terminal, a 747 airplane interior and a future focussed hospital emergency department.

Further detailed exploration into the research was enabled by the NOW BOARDING on demand interactive user experience. The 3D AR Victorian Medtech Showcase and 3D printed scale models and prototypes of Intelligent footwear for healthcare workers and innovative sleep devices demonstrated design process and the capacity of Monash Design Health Collab to codesign with world leading industry partners.

The concept and final exhibition layout needed to specifically consider the unique and challenging requirements of a space that was a public foyer of a major educational institution and not a gallery.

Design thinking and practice drove innovative solutions to the presentation during Melbourne Design Week of the research at Monash Design Health Collab. The selection of the venue and the site specific sustainable design solution that creatively responded to the architecture demonstrates design at its best.

HEATH by DESIGN showcased the best of innovative design in Victoria. The combination of full size physical prototypes, large screen motion graphics and on demand user centred interaction design ensured users engaged with the extraordinary research from Melbourne.

The Self Screening Checkpoint project with Micro-X will revolutionise airport travel globally. The significance of this project at Monash University inspired the novel user experience for the exhibition. The choice of travel luggage as a safe and appropriate interaction device also served to enhance the communication of the impact of the research. Each case would act as a trigger for the on demand interactive user experience - NOW BOARDING.

The collaboration with Melbourne brand July delivered a set of twelve coloured cases to trigger individual project videos. Each case had a custom designed QR label and branded baggage label.

The latest artificial intelligence, machine learning and image recognition were all deployed by the interaction design team to deliver the NOW BOARDING on demand user experience.

This exhibition demonstrates how over the last ten years, the DESIGN HEALTH COLLAB has been collaborating with healthcare partners to enhance our health experience and encompass new approaches to medicine, healthcare, well-being, and healthy living.

HEALTH by DESIGN - The Future of Healthcare presented for the first time innovative new projects including the Mobile CT Brain Scanner and the Self Service Airport Checkpoint. The Victorian based research, design and innovation in these projects is world first with significant global impact. The immersive digital exhibition and associated public lecture program were featured during Melbourne Design Week. A total of 19 significant and 12 feature projects co-designed with Victorian, national and international partners demonstrated to the general public the global reputation and status of Victoria’s design and creative culture.

The curatorial approach and immersive digital design solution was a site specific response for Melbourne Design Week and embodied sustainable design practice. Twelve short films were produced and triggered via Artificial Intelligence markers on brightly coloured luggage. The partnership with iconic Melbourne company July enhanced the innovation and design excellence narrative of HEALTH by DESIGN. Monash alumnus industrial Designer Jon Liow and the team at July were awarded a Good Design Award in 2021.

The exhibition is ideally suited to package and tour internationally promoting and enhancing the reputation of our significant medtech sector. The FUTURE for HEALTH by DESIGN is bright.

A commitment to circular design and sustainability was critical from the outset for HEALTH by DESIGN. This approach was assisted significantly by the venue choice and an exhibition design layout decision to negotiate with building management to use spaces that avoided any need to hire in lighting and AV equipment. The huge 18m x 2m digital wall offered the potential to further reduce carbon footprint by substituting several large physical prototypes with an immersive and engaging digital experience. These large prototypes were initially planned to be featured in the exhibition.

The over 25 minutes of new digital and motion graphics content eliminated the need for large format printed posters commonly used in this type of exhibition. The large number of research project posters would have created a lot of waste.

The brief to feature 10 years of content was curated to 19 significant and 12 feature projects. A more traditional approach with multiple AV setups and custom designed exhibition elements, at this scale, would have had a significant carbon footprint. The more sustainable on demand NOW BOARDING interactive installation delivered the same content in a novel and creative way, and showcased the latest in user experience machine learning technology.

On demand also responded to a users individual interest in a research project and also allowed researchers to share projects with booked tour groups or VIP visitors.

The use of AR to deliver the Victorian Medtech showcase also eliminated the need to construct a temporary booth/stand and avoided transporting many physical products to the venue. Exhibition podiums utilised existing components, loan display cases, and the two large circular podiums are retained for use by Monash Art Design and Architecture.

Sustainably sourced plywood was used to create site specific circular podiums and display case panels for lockable loan display cases.