Thursday Salute to Originals: Progressive Prosthetics
Though constantly breaking ground and pushing boundaries, the medical field isn’t usually a hotbed for aesthetic advancements. That’s really how it should be, though. After all, time, money, and energy should be spent saving lives, not debating on the proper metal finish for the stethoscope or whether or not the color for surgical gloves matches this year’s color forecast. (Sorry, Pantone Color of the Year, your powers are useless here). But it’s always nice when thoughtful design somehow infiltrates into unfamiliar territory, making its mark on seemingly unrelated genres.
Take the prosthetic sector of the medical field, for example. Prosthetics have been around for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek soldiers who had lost a limb would be fashioned a crude prosthesis out of wood or metal, allowing them to continue fighting in battle. The objects were heavy, cumbersome, and meant to strictly to cover up what was considered an embarrassing defect of the human body.
Over those thousands of years, the stigmas have faded, and ideas, technologies, and materials behind prostheses have progressed and improved. But unfortunately design and aesthetics have been somewhat lacking here, remaining cold and impersonal pieces of foreign material affixed to the body – more of a one-size-fits-all type of mentality. Prosthetic development hasn’t quite caught up with design of modern times or their wearers. Until now, that is.
Recognizing the glaring lack of aesthetics and personalization inherent in medical prosthetics, Bespoke Innovations decided to close the gap between function and modern, individualized design. With industrial design and surgical backgrounds, Bespoke Innovations custom designs and tailors each prosthetic specific to the patient, bringing “…a more personal approach to the way a broad spectrum of medical devices are developed and used”.
Looking like something pulled straight from Zaha Hadid’s sketchbook or a Fashion Week runway show, these prostheses are anything but rudimentary replacements. They are literal works of art that celebrate the wearer, while highlighting the lost limb. Behaving more like a prized fashion accessory – akin to shiny piece of jewelry accenting the neckline or a meaningful tattoo commemorating a special event – their clever designs completely break the traditional prosthetic mold with visually striking yet personal touches in modern materials and motifs.
“Our hope is to enable our clients to emotionally connect with their prosthetic limbs, and wear them confidently as a form of personal expression. Our products turn something ordinary into something amazing. …We envision a day when people are invited to participate in the creation of the products that have meaning to them on a fundamental level, a day when bodies are consulted directly in the creation of the products that enhance or complement them.”
For recognizing the need for personalized design in a previously not-so-personal genre, we salute Bespoke Innovations. Who knows, maybe Radiant Orchid surgical gloves aren’t out of the question after all?
Source: Bespoke Innovations
Image credits: Documenting Reality, PBS, Core 77, Bespoke Innovations