App Design from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology That Made Waves in the Global Design Community

UNIST Professors Kim Hwang and Jeong Dooyoung Win Prestigious IDEA 2020 Design Award
Smart Applications Transforming User Lives by Combining Design and Engineering
Recognized for Excellence in App Design Supporting 'Digital Urination Diary' and 'Sus

The app 'Privi' that won a world-renowned design award.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] ‘App design,’ born from the fusion of design and engineering, is making waves in the global design community.

Two applications designed with the participation of professors and students from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have won prestigious awards recognized as one of the world’s top three design awards.

The applications, which showcase the synergy of ideas between designers and engineers, have been recognized for their potential to reach users’ hands, drawing significant attention.

Professor Kim Hwang from the Department of Design and Professor Jung Doo-young from the Department of Biomedical Engineering were both named recipients of the main award for innovative application design at the IDEA 2020 (International Design Excellence Award 2020).

The two award-winning works selected in the Communication category are the digital voiding diary app ‘Privy (PRIVY Voiding Diary)’ and the app ‘SuLi (Sustainable Lifestyle)’ that helps promote sustainable living.

‘Privy’ is a digital platform designed to assist patients in managing urinary health, created collaboratively by Professors Kim Hwang, Jung Doo-young, and graduate students Kim Do-kyung, Lee Ji-young, and Jin Hyo-jung.

UNIST researchers awarded at IDEA 2020 (top row from left: Professor Jeong Doo-young, graduate student Jin Hyo-jung, Choi Hye-min, student Lee Jin-baek. Bottom row from left: Kim Do-kyung, graduate student Lee Ji-young, Professor Kim Hwang).

For urology patients, maintaining a voiding diary by hand?recording urine volume, date, time, and pain?is necessary for diagnosis, and this app conveniently digitizes that process.

Users can easily keep a voiding diary using Privy. The entered data is automatically analyzed and provided as diagnostic indicators for medical staff, making the app design convenient for both patients and healthcare providers.

Professor Jung Doo-young said, “We identified difficulties in the medical process through interviews with actual medical staff and patients and worked to improve them. I am pleased that it has been highly evaluated as a digital healthcare tool that anyone can easily and comfortably access.”

Sulai App.

The other award-winning app, ‘SuLi,’ is a smartphone application designed to help consumers pursue a ‘sustainable lifestyle.’

This design project involved Professor Kim Hwang, graduate student Jin Hyo-jung, and students Heo Nam-chul, Choi Hye-min, and Lee Jin-baek.

The research team felt the need to develop a system that analyzes and displays the environmental impact of each product to target consumers who pursue sustainable living, and thus began the design.

SuLi provides indicators that allow consumers to easily analyze the sustainability of each product.

Users can compare, analyze, and select products using these indicators, which are created based on commonly used lifestyle elements.

The app also offers a visualization menu that allows users to see their individual efforts at a glance based on their activities. A space for user communication is also provided, enabling collective efforts toward sustainable living to be realized within the app design.

Professor Kim Hwang said, “Interest in an eco-friendly society is growing, but often it is vague how to actually practice it.”

“SuLi provides an opportunity to intuitively understand and choose products, helping consumers to practice sustainable living on their own,” he explained.

Professor Kim added, “Winning the IDEA award recognizes the excellence of digital design that can change users’ lives. We will continue to work on various convergent designs to enhance user convenience.”

IDEA (International Design Excellence Award) is an international design award hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America and is considered one of the world’s top three design awards alongside Germany’s ‘iF Award (iF Design Award)’ and ‘Red Dot Award (Red Dot Design Award).’

'Sullai' design team (from left: Professor Kim Hwang, student Lee Jin-baek, graduate student Jin Hyo-jung, student Choi Hye-min).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.