The Media Design alumna Anastasia Bondarenko took home a Green Product Award as a newcomer in the category “Children” with her final thesis Umweltmonster.
After winning the Zukunftspreis Kommunikation last year, this is already the second award for the project. For her final thesis, Anastasia worked on design concepts promoting environmentally-aware behavior among children. As a result, she developed a cross-media interactive game concept. Colorful little monsters, equipped with sensors and interactive features populate the family houshold. They encourage children to environmentally friendly behavior. The garbage monster for instance recognizes recyclable packaging from disposable waste. The water monster warns children when it’s getting too wet during a long shower. In an accompanying iPad game, the current amount of saved resources is being integrated in digital children’s stories. “Anastasia Bondarenko’s thesis manages to playfully combine state-of-the-art technology issues such as the Internet of Things with child-friendly interactive communication” said Prof. Klaus Birk, who supervised the thesis at the DHBW. “The idea is very creative and diverse”, commented the jury of the Green Product Award. The objective of this award is to encourage designers to consider issues of sustainability in the development of new products. Around 200 projects were entering the Award. Anastasia Bondarenko’s “Umweltmonsters” won in the newcomers children category.
