Hanne Pålsson is an industrial designer and the product developer of the Vevios safety alarm. She has a master’s degree from Ingvar Kamprad Designcentrum at Lund University (2015). In March 2017 she founded the company Stylos Design AB and in the spring Vevios was selected as a finalist entry at the world’s largest Wearable Technology Conference in Munich, Germany. At the same time Hanne was participating in the Fast Track accelerator programme at the Minc hub for entrepreneurs in Malmö and is now working full time on the product development of Vevios.
The Vevios safety alarm began as a degree project for the industrial design programme in Lund and is based on Hanna’s own experiences of student summer jobs in the home care service. After graduating she further developed Vevios for six months at the Venture Lab student incubator at Ideon in Lund. There she received support so she could develop an initial prototype and she also patented the alarm.
The product has now received more funding, which is enabling the development of more advanced test prototypes. These will be trialled in spring 2018 on a number of elderly users for further follow-up and refinement.
Thanks to a lot of media attention in 2017 (Swedish Television and Radio, the newspaper Sydsvenska Dagbladet, Reuters etc.), Vevios has received a positive response from both the elderly and their relatives who are acquainted with today’s inadequate safety alarms on the market. In addition, established technology and mobile phone companies have also shown interest in working on the project. This has increased the possibility that Hanne Pålsson can introduce a new mobile safety alarm to the market as early as 2019 – an alarm that gives both freedom and safety to its users.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Where were you born?
I was born and grew up in Skanör, Skåne.
How old are you?
28.
Where do you live?
I live in Lund but would like to move to Malmö where I work.
What do you do?
I have a master’s degree in industrial design and right now I am working full time with my company, Stylos Design, where my colleagues and I are developing Vevios – tomorrow’s safety alarm for the elderly, chronically ill and other vulnerable groups in society.
Your favourite place?
To be underneath the water – when you dive it is like flying. Preferably in the Red Sea or by Ön outside Malmö.
Favourite material?
Leather, especially from reptiles. For example, lizard skin, which looks so tempered and perfected after millions of years of development. It has been adapted to the particular climate or environment it existed in. I think that’s fantastic.
Favourite designer?
I like everything by Alessi. Especially all the playful, brightly coloured figures, even though the products are created by various designers. Their everyday objects actually look the way they are supposed to be – for example, a parrot actually is a parrot. Otherwise I also like Arne Jacobsen’s design. He was also a very skilled draughtsman.
Favourite colour?
Orange, because it is very visible, stands out from the crowd, and always puts me in a good mood.
What inspires you?
Seeing good products for everyday situations where the easiest and simplest solution is the best one. No one notices how good the product or the solution to a problem is – it just works without being made complicated. That inspires me the most. The solution doesn’t have to come from any well-known designer, it is just the best solution to the problem!
Your vision/business concept?
My business concept is to create a safer and more secure daily life for the elderly and chronically ill by developing a safety alarm that works everywhere, regardless of where they happen to be. That gives them freedom. The safety alarm has existed since the 1970s but not much has happened in terms of technology and design to improve it. I believe Vevios is tomorrow’s safety alarm that will make daily life easier, safer and freer.
Biggest mistake?
Everyone says I should have studied a term abroad. I never did but it is nothing that I regret. I believe I will have the opportunity to travel more now if my dream becomes a reality with the Vevios safety alarm.
Dream project?
To see the Vevios safety alarm out and being used by people. Right now I am working on my dream project: to help people by improving an outdated product by making it safer and more secure. A safety alarm must always work. I could never have dreamt that I would get as far as I have now, and I realise that it really is a pressing problem to solve. This makes me very happy.
Next project?
Stylos Design will continue to develop medical technology products for the health care and care sectors. Because I have worked in the home help service for ten years, I have seen products that work very badly but than can be made simpler and be greatly improved. We have a growing group of elderly people in the world who will probably never accept the health care and care products that are currently on offer. There is a need for development.
The Designer of the Month is a series of portraits intended to showcase local talents with links to the Öresund region and also to present an expanded view of design as a concept. The selection is made together with the association DISK (Designers in Skåne) and can be an individual designer, a group, or a manufacturer. The list of design areas is long and includes everything from furniture design, industrial design and architecture to fashion, illustration, the moving image etc.
