LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 3, 2016)—Students in the CSULB Industrial Design program have begun redesigning mobility and home medical products for a design competition sponsored by Mobül: the Home Mobility Store, in Long Beach, California. Mobül, the largest home medical equipment store in Southern California, decided to fund the award and partner with CSULB, saying, “This industry needs new, more contemporary designs, and who better to explore that than our neighboring students in the Industrial Design Department.”
Under the direction of professor Wesley Woelfel, 19 students majoring in industrial design will spend the next five weeks reimagining and designing a host of products. They began the process by visiting Mobül and touring the store with founder and CEO, Wayne Slavitt.
Slavitt and his staff are passionate about this industry, something evident in the time given to students during the two-hour store tour. “Products are what we sell, but what we do is help people through very difficult times. Customers come into our store sad, overwhelmed and depressed by the physical challenges they or family members are facing. If these students can come up with designs that will make people feel better about those conditions—less like they are living in a hospital and more like home—then we have accomplished something worthwhile,” said Slavitt. There is tremendous growth in the senior market, with 10,000 people turning 65 every day for the next 13 years. The need for attractive, well-designed products is exploding.
Slavitt pointed out that, “Baby boomers want something better for themselves and their aging parents. Aging is unavoidable, but feeling better about yourself in the process is what we hope to accomplish. Mobül is excited to partner with the CSULB Design Department to give students real world experiences.” In addition to cash prizes, Mobül will arrange for the winner to meet with manufacturers to learn firsthand how a product design is brought to market. The competition culminates with an award reception at Mobül March 9th.
For more information, visit mobulstore.com.
