Seeds of Innovation: A Digital Interactive Platform

Midori Yamazaki's Award-Winning Design Inspired by COVID-19

COVID-19 has fundamentally altered the world's preconceptions, instilling fear and uncertainty. However, it has also sparked a shift in perspective, leading to innovative ideas for a better future. Yamazaki's design is a testament to this positive transformation, offering a platform to ensure these innovative concepts are not forgotten as the immediate crisis subsides.

The unique strength of this design lies in its ability to capture and share the seeds of innovation born from our collective experience with COVID-19. The platform, developed through a cross-disciplinary collaboration of designers, scientists, and others, is a comprehensive list of concepts and ideas available online to all for future research.

The platform was realized using design thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration, employing technologies such as Heroku, a cloud application platform, and D3 and React, JavaScript libraries. It is accessible via the internet, with macOS 10.13.6 or higher recommended for optimal viewing.

The digital platform offers two types of user experience design to facilitate easy search based on the level of understanding of science and technology. The "Mind Map" allows users to logically find ideas by concept from the academic disciplines linked to various laboratories. The "Illustration Overview" enables users to search using visual language, allowing even those with limited expertise in science and technology to find ideas that interest them through illustrations.

Launched in Tokyo, Japan, in April 2021, the platform is accessible worldwide and will remain open to the public for a minimum of three years. The project is a result of a cross-disciplinary collaboration of designers, scientists, and others, who developed a list of concepts and ideas using a design thinking approach. The team overcame numerous challenges, including conducting online interviews and workshops during the pandemic, to bring this project to fruition.

In recognition of its innovative design and practical application, the platform was awarded the Iron A' Website and Web Design Award in 2022. This prestigious award is given to well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements and contribute to a better world.