Designers
Hanna Harkawy
Year
2021
Category
New Talent
Country
Poland
School
Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice
Teacher
Agnieszka Fujak
»For centuries, the use of holy water from stoups has been an essential Christian ritual. The hygienic stoup allows believers to hold on to these traditional patterns of interaction. At the same time, it meets the current sanitary requirements of a post-pandemic world. Updating artifacts without changing patterns of use is an unusual challenge for designers. The jury commends this design for preserving the symbolic and ritual experience.«
Markus Turber
Three questions to the team
What was the particular challenge in the project from a UX point of view?
During interviews with representatives of a target group it turned out that a significant aspect of using the Holy Water is putting the hand in the stoup. The way of obtaining the Holy Water has a symbolic value and shows a respect for its sanctity. The design challenge was to enable the traditional use of the stoup, which is the essence of this experience while ensuring hygiene and safety for users.
What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha! moment, was there a low point?
The highlight in the design process was conducting in-depth interviews with specialists in the field of theology. Presenting the existing concepts and discussing them, allowed me to reach a solution that, according to faith will not adversely affect the properties of the Holy Water and at the same time will allow it to be purified. This is how the concept of a mechanism that purifies Holy Water with the use of UV light was created.
Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
The world, under the influence of the pandemic, began to change rapidly and to adapt to new needs, so I hope that in the future the Hygienic Stoup project will have a chance to be implemented. It is a good example of how tradition and religion meet the modern world and new technologies while maintaining a sense of aesthetics and respect for sacred aspects. As for me, I hope in the future I will continue to work on projects that respond to the real needs of users and improve their quality of life.
