Saeli Seira Saenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles Receives the A' Design Award for Ensenas Tool to Improve Communication in Social Design

Saeli Seira Saenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles recognized for social design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Social Design category for Ensenas Tool to Improve Communication by Saeli Seira Saenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles, designed for Universidad de Monterrey. The recognition forms part of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the A' Design Award Means

The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

Regarding Ensenas Tool to Improve Communication

Ensenas is a digital tool created to improve communication between people with hearing disabilities and hearing people in Mexico. Ensenas uses a machine learning model that reads Mexican Sign Language in real time and translates words into written Spanish. The model was trained with a data set of 400 videos of common signs, labeled and analyzed frame by frame through pose estimation. A responsive website presents the project and offers the research, the model and the data set for free download. The aim is to reduce the communication gap.

About Saeli Seira Saenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles

Roberto Garza Sada Center for Art, Architecture and Design Space for ideas and expressions that brings together and develops the best creative talent, consolidating itself as the headquarters for the formation, creation and development of art, architecture and design in Latin America. Currently, it has LEED Certification at its "Silver" level, granted by the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), with which it became the first of Tadao Ando's works with this type of recognition and, to date, in the only building of a higher education institution in all of Nuevo León internationally certified as a space that respects the environment.

Award Record

Saeli Seira Saenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

About the A' Social Design Award

The A' Social Design Award is an international design competition recognizing excellence in social design by social impact designers and think-tanks worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to social designers, social brands, social manufacturers and social design professionals from all countries. Entries typically include community projects, social campaigns, public installations, educational programs, sustainable initiatives and healthcare solutions. Awarded social designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/social

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://designers.org/149366
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/149366
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!149366
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/342051

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

###

Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Ensenas Tool to Improve Communication
Function: Tool to Improve Communication
Category: Social Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Social Impact
Colors: Burly Wood, Salmon, Dark Slate Gray, Black and Light Gray
Images: 5
Client: Universidad de Monterrey

The Recognition

Laureate: Saeli Seira Saenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles
Country: Mexico
Recognition: A' Design Award
Edition: 2022 - 2023
Design ID: #149366

Credits

Team: Saeli Seira Sáenz and Alana Betanzo Carriles

Design Details

Unique Properties: Likewise, thanks to technology and current tools, we were able to generate a Machine Learning model or tool which makes a real time reading of the Mexican Sign Language; where it is possible to solve the communication gap between people with hearing disabilities and people without such disability; avoiding that people make the effort to learn the Mexican Sign Language.
Inspiration: The lack of education and tools about Mexican Sign Language to improve the communication and experience of hearing impaired people in Mexico, has led us to create awareness and promote the inclusion of this problem through a digital platform.
Research: It is estimated that 5% of the world population, being 430 million people, will suffer a loss of disabling audio and in Mexico there are limited resources and tools to create an environment where everyone feels heard. Following a design process, we conducted a series of interviews with experts, case studies and surveys to understand the perception of hearing impairment. We found that one of the limitations for the use of sign language is the learning curve. We also found that some basic tasks for people with this disability can be more complicated than normal, which limits their independence. That's why we wanted to find a solution inclusion to this problem.
Challenge: The first step in creating this project was the creation of a data set consisting of a collection of 400 videos of the most used words in the Mexican sign language. These were ordered by categorize and label individually. The next step was the pose prediction process, in which the model analyzes the content of the data set analyzing frame by frame by means of ML pipe pose Estimation. At the end of this estimation, our supervised learning model is able to detect patterns in the poses without the need for human intervention in order to identify which words, letters, numbers and phrases they belong to.
Realization and Technology: We developed a model and data set of machine learning in order to create new tools and opportunities for people with hearing disabilities and make their lives easier through it. We created a platform in which anyone can learn more about the project and download the machine learning model.
Project Duration and Location: 6 months on Universidad de Montery and Monterrey City in México
Specifications: This is a model in a website, whit a responsive design.
Keywords: IA, Machine Learning, LSM, Data base, Service Design, education and tools, Sign Language,