The design team led by Professor Sangsu Lee from the Department of Industrial Design showed impressive results at the annual Red Dot Awards and iF Design Awards, bagging a total of 10 prizes. Two of Professor Lee’s designs, ALINE and Blow-yancy, received the coveted Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design 2021 announced last August. Known for its prestige, the Red Dot Awards assesses outstanding products in about 50 different categories. ALINE also won the iF Design Awards earlier this year in April.

In pursuit of sustainable investing, Professor Lee created ALINE, a mobile app that aids consumers in aligning their investments and consumptions with their personal values. ALINE was developed in response to the rising popularity of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investment. ESG investing refers to investing that not only considers financial returns, but also assesses a company’s impact on the planet through multiple environmental and social factors. ALINE lets its users practice socially responsible investing through an investment portfolio tailored to them based on an initial survey about what they deem important, which is then supplemented with regular updates from the user. Moreover, the app also provides the option to monitor and analyze a user’s consumption according to their referenced values. The Red Dot Awards and iF Design Awards recognized the potential of ALINE, selecting the app as the recipient of the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design 2021 and the Gold Award.

Another user experience (UX) project of Professor Lee’s that gained recognition in the Red Dot Design Award is a VR device for divers called Blow-yancy. Blow-yancy can simulate a state of neutral buoyancy using its breathing sensor and controller alongside a VR mask. With the help of this device, it is not necessary for divers to go into water for diving practice, allowing inexperienced divers to receive safe diving training before going into the water. Professor Lee’s main motivation for this project was to relieve the apprehension inexperienced divers feel in their first first dives and also prevent them from accidentally coming into contact with and damaging corals. 

In spite of the recent accolades Professor Lee remains motivated as ever, stating that he will continue on developing UX products that have global recognition.