2025 Galleries
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2025 Galleries // 2025 Spark: Fall/Winter Student // GRIP
GRIP
Winner - Gold
Competition:
Spark: Fall/Winter Student
Designer:
Woojun Kang
Design Type:
Product & industrial ,
Company / Organization / School:
Chosun University
Team Members:
Woojun Kang
For most people, lighting a flame is a simple gesture a small flick of the thumb. But for those who have lost or cannot use their thumb, that everyday act becomes nearly impossible. This lighter was designed to bring that small freedom back through a soft and inclusive form.
Instead of using a thumb to press or strike, users can simply grip the body to ignite a flame. Its U shaped structure and soft mechanical action reduce the need for fine motor control, allowing people with disabilities, limited mobility, or even temporary injuries to light a flame easily and safely.
The design follows the principles of Universal Design, aiming not just to serve specific users but to make life easier for everyone. By minimizing physical effort, it removes unnecessary barriers that often go unnoticed in daily products.
This lighter is more than just a tool it symbolizes independence, equality, and dignity in design. It reminds us that accessibility and beauty can coexist, and that thoughtful design can transform something ordinary into something empowering.
JUDGES COMMENTS:
--Should be pitched towards low-grip situations rather than thumb-less scenario.
--Nice mechanism but better pitched as a piezo-lighter for a kitchen stove
--Solid ID work, justifiable as a solution that does away with the need for fine motor skills to use. Is it safe? Could use some understanding of the safeguards for this being activated inadvertently.,,,
