Title of the entry: »technology and social problems« (1 CD-ROM)
Name: Sandru Ioana
From: Dradea, 3700 Bihor (Romania), Universitatea de Arta si Design, Cluj
Field of studies: Design, 8th semester

Abstract
Coating technology is used almost excusively to imitate traditional forms or textures - wooden surfaces usually. I though of a project that is depending of the 3D textures not only for an estethical use, but for a real use: partical use. Today there are a lot of actions in favor of sports practice for handicapped persons. Many families are looking for surroundings for (their) handicapped children. Besides physical and mental developement it is also an incredible tool of socibility: it is for the handicapped person away to break the isolation and the monotony of everyday life. But it is also an educational factor for others, a way to understand disperences and to aknoledge the existence of handicaps. We live in a modern world when the technology allouds and maice this be easy for blind people - it is a design with soft shapes of plastic technology; it uses different textures of layering. It has an emotionally quality, resolving a real problem.

Panel statement:
The project "technology and social problems" focuses on the sensory stimulation provided by wall treatments for handicapped persons (persons with a high degree of visual impairment or blindness) using a totally new kind of surface design of wall panels. From the overlapping of various icon-type emblems (which can be imagined to undergo diversification depending on individual types of rooms) with seemingly organic basic designs which create depth and widen into open spaces, a future-oriented interpretation of the surface ornament develops, aided by fresh colouring, and this not only makes use of forms adapted from shapes found in indoor climbing walls, but which also invites the direct tactile experience. The panel found that this entry was exemplary in presenting a homogenous approach to a highly emotional quality of the surface design, using the modern means of three-dimensional plastic coating, and in doing so, providing a convincing integrative input for handicapped persons.