Manu González has won the ADI Medal of Opinion awarded by the Association of Industrial Design of the FAD (ADI-FAD) for his Final Design Degree Project TMBLight.
Manu, the ADI Medal of Opinion is awarded by the members of ADI-FAD. Did you expect to receive this award?
I think everyone lives it differently. For me, and more so after all the problems encountered along the way, being able to obtain this recognition has meant an inexplicable satisfaction. It has helped me to value myself much more as a designer. In my case, I am extremely happy that it was the members of ADI who gave me this medal, because that means that not only do I believe in this idea, but there is a very large group of designers in Barcelona who also believe in it.
What I would like to say is that, although the award was given to me, behind it there is a very large group of people who, without their support and help, this would not have been possible.
TMBLight is a new signalling system generated from a light device, which identifies the areas of higher and lower occupation of each wagon allowing a uniform distribution of people. What motivated you to choose the theme of your project?
At present, public transport is the future inside and outside cities. In this case, Barcelona is one of the most important cities in the world, but, despite this, there are many failures in all the services they offer, making their users not receive an optimal service. That is why I saw the need to focus on some of these problems. In my case, I decided to focus on the problems that exist on the platforms, where users are grouped in a disorganized and disproportionate way. This unintentionally causes a multitude of problems such as fights, theft, conflicts at the entrances and exits of the carriages, discomfort, overloading of users per carriage, etc. With my system we try, in a very clear and intuitive way, to avoid a great part of these problems.
For you Manu, what role does EINA play in your professional development?
People who know me more closely know that EINA, for me, is not just another university. My journey as a student has been quite complicated, and thanks to EINA, all problems have been solved. I say that EINA is a family where, if you let yourself be tucked in and get advice, they will get the best out of you. All of them. From the first person who answers an email with information, to the concierge, to the teachers, each one of them makes this experience unique. Even what I say is reflected in this year's awards. I have it very clear, if I had to decide on a university again, I wouldn't go anywhere else. EINA Lover's ❤
Manu González, TMBLight