No. 60
24 November 2006
Award for novel dental magnifying glasses
University of Design Graduates win Pininfarina Prize
Schwäbisch Gmünd (HfG/imü). University of Design graduates Fabian Benedikter and David Hauser have been awarded a prize in the category Industrial Design for their diploma project by the jury of the Pininfarina Competition. The project developed lightweight and extremely high-performance dental magnifying glasses.
Magnifying glasses are essential dentist"s equipment for diagnostic and treatment work. They are often worn for hours at a time, and so their design is important. Pressure points, dazzling reflections, shadows thrown by the workplace lighting, bad protection, and fogging of the lenses are just some of the weaknesses of currently available glasses.
“Dentascope is characterized by consistent design of the individual technical components. Material reduction and intelligent layout of the components leads to a happy balance,” according to the jury, “the slim headband with its Technogel cushion guarantees comfortable wear. The overall aesthetic appearance of the design is innovative.” The Dentascope has the look of modern sports goggles.
Dentascope is extremely lightweight and distributes this weight evenly around the wearer"s head. In contrast to current models the Dentascope can hardly be felt and causes no pressure points, especially on the bridge of the nose, while worn. The new positioning prevents the glasses from fogging while the dentist is working. A breathing Technogel cushion can be removed and cleaned easily. The project was tutored by Professors Sigmar Willnauer and Frank Zebner.
The Stuttgart Pininfarina Prize aims to give talented new designers a platform and help them to start their professional careers.
