13. Past Winning Entries of IxDA (Part 3)

2017 Winner - COBALT: Fighting Crime with Design by Mark43

Okay this one is seriously super cool. Police departments have been using poorly-designed, outdated software for records management and input, and Mark43 did a complete rework of the system, greatly reducing the amount of time that police officers need to spend doing paperwork. By trailing police officers for field research and asking them questions on their day-to-day policework, the company managed to optimise the process of writing and submitting reports. COBALT is also used to help dispatchers manage police resources, and police are able to cross-check data more quickly to see past offences. The data that's collected is also organised more clearly, helping researchers find patterns and find ways to improve.
Media: Cloud-based subscription of software
Interaction: Police can have their paperwork burden reduced, and spend more time focusing on fighting crime
Connecting: Police, researchers, beautiful data

2017 Finalist - Microsoft Inclusive Toolkit by Microsoft

Very relevant to the project that I'm working on now, the Microsoft Inclusive Toolkit was developed by Microsoft to make diversity and disability a source of innovation. I think it will be a very useful tool to examine. 
Media: A manual, activities, and videos from subject matter experts
Interaction: Between designers and users from different backgrounds
Connecting: Creating valuable tool for for others to use and build upon for the future of more inclusive and diverse design. 

2017 Finalist- IOM - Reimagining Medication Labelling by Frontend.com

With the movement of refugees fleeing war-torn countries, comes a new issue of communicating medical information between aid workers and migrants. Frontend.com worked with Irish university students to conceptualise a better type of medicine labeling that was consistent, easily customised, and could work with people with different primary languages. It's another great example of using design to change lives for the better, and damn now I'm feeling so pressured that I can never match up to their level at my current stage. 
Media: Software, Good Ui
Interaction: Between aid workers and migrants and how the migrants can understand and remember the information about the medicine they receive
Connecting: Better communication for better health, reducing medicine waste, helping aid workers work more efficiently. 


2018 Winner - Moot – Make Democracy Great Again by Frontend.com


Frontend delivers spectacular work again, working with students in Irish universities as well as policy labs and think-tanks in the EU, the USA, and Canada to create a way to bridge the disconnect between citizens and politicians. They wanted to create a better channel of communication, one that was transparent and had a clear feedback loop. This project intends to rebuild trust between constituents and representatives and help them feel a greater sense of contribution towards their own society. 
Media: Technology framework + UI
Interaction: Citizens can voice their opinions on topics that concern them, and representatives can more clearly see and understand the data given to them, and act on them. 
Connecting: Citizens and politicians, creating more trust and accountability and ensuring a more transparent democratic process. 

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Oh gosh I'm feeling quite overwhelmed. I don't have the resources or the time to realistically pull off something anywhere near this level. I kind of get the impression that I'm not expected to, but I'm not sure if that's worse? That lecturers have low expectations and aren't really pushing or guiding us towards making a submission that would really make an impact. I imagine part of the project is to see us rise up to the challenge, but it just feels kind of bleak right now.

*Existential dread intensifies*




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