Natasza Salanska - TOTU / Tableware

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This tableware, consisting of utensils and a tray, makes consuming meals easier for a blind person in old age. The tray is fitted with magnets and reliefs that help in the placement of the utensils, reinforcing spatial memory, and setting a small area which is easy to negotiate. The magnets set permanent places for the utensils and protect them from accidental shifting, resulting in spilling a liquid for example.

This tableware is user-friendly with smooth forms closely tied to functionality. Edgings (the elongated curved outer parts of the tableware) serve as guides setting the positions of meals on the table. The form of the edgings allows a firm grip, as well as comfortable handling and lifting. The raised portion of the plate edge enhances scooping, while the lowered edge gives greater access to food. The bowl with two extended edgings facilitates a firm two-handed grip for drinking (soup) customary for blind persons.

The utensils do not stigmatize the blind and are attractive to other users, which helps in integrating the family with a shared meal. Getting accustomed to the set and using it freely is not difficult for a recently-blinded person. It allows them to acquire independence in consuming meals quite quickly. The tableware might be also useful when it’s necessary to serve meals in bed, for example, to the elderly, sick or disabled. The tray and utensils are suitable for both left and right handed persons.

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Work process / first concepts / preeliminary projects:

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the project has been shown at many international exIhibitions AND PUBLICATIONS related to design throughout all Europe:

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The Other Side of Things. Polish design After 1989 / Exhibition and publication accompanying exibition / National Museum in Cracow (Poland), 2018:

The publication shows how design artists coped with the budding capitalism in the 1990s, what imprint Postmodernism left on their works, how they joined in the international trends in design at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, and how they strive these days for individuality in an attempt to measure up to the competition on foreign markets. The economic efficiency is not always the only determinant of the form of a product.

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Lodz Design Festival / It's all about humanity (2013):

Łódź Design Festival is an international festival of design taking place since 2007 in Łódź, Poland. It presents different faces of design including industrial design, arts and crafts design, graphic design, architectural design, service design and fashion design.

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RZECZY sprawne - DESIGN FOR ALL / Gdynia Design Festival / Exhibition & Catalogue:

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"Added Value - Global Design from Poland" exhibition / Vilnius, Lithuana (2011):

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DMY Berlin / International Design Festival / 2012 (Germany):

DMY Berlin is an annual contemporary design festival where both aspiring and established designers present new products, prototypes and design concepts.

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Best Graduation Projects 2010 / Catalogue:

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Best Graduation Projects 2010 / exhibitions in Cieszyn (Poland), Krakow (Poland), Bratislava (Slovakia) & Prague (Czech Republic):

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FUTU Paper / Creating Value Added Designs / Publication about TOTU project / 2013:

Futu Paper Magazine - A new monthly newspaper-like-magazine it covers news, articles, interviews and reports on design, culture, business and lifestyle, published in Poland by FUTU Group

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DESIGN SILESIA / Design is for People / Publication / TOTU / 2013:

Article about design supporting weakening senses.

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POLITYKA / Design for real live / article:

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WROCLOVE DESIGN International Good Projects Fastival / Wroclaw (Poland), 14.05.2014:

“The keyword of the second edition of the Wroclove Design reflects perfectly its idea - its curiosity about new forms, its courage in exploring the unknown and its open-mindedness for various aspects of design. We'd like to combine timelessness with innovation, to show innovative concepts appreciating classical values at the same time.”