Facett

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BACKGROUND: Facett is the world's first self-fit modular hearing aid designed by Leah Heiss with hearing aid company Blamey Saunders Hears. This breakthrough de-stigmatises hearing aids and removes the difficulty of changing batteries. Inspired by Museums Victoria's mineralogy collection, Facett shifts hearing aids from disability to desirability. It works with IHearYou, a programming system that allows the user independent control over their settings with mobile devices. After 130 design iterations, Facett was launched as a commercial product in March 2018. CONTRIBUTION: Heiss was embedded in the technology development process for 37 weeks and spent time with 25 hearing aid users to understand the human experience of hearing loss. Evolving through deep collaboration between design, engineering, signal processing, manufacturing and audiology, the outcome is a technology that is precious rather than medical in its aesthetic. The project demonstrates Heiss' contribution to human-centred design at the nexus of engineering, health and technology through to manufacturing, and to the collaborative practice model. SIGNIFICANCE: In 2016, the Commonwealth Government's Accelerating Commercialisation Grant provided funding for the development and commercialisation of Facett. The design is registered with IP Australia, European Design Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Museums Victoria has acquired the entire design process including models, photographs, sketches and micro-documentary comprising 3 years of work. In 2018 Facett won the 2018 Good Design Award (Australia's peak design industry award) and 2 Best in Class Good Design Awards (Product Design and Social Innovation); CSIRO Design Innovation Award; 3 Victorian State Government iAwards (Research & Development Project of the Year; Community Service Markets; and Infrastructure & Platforms Innovation of the Year). It also won the Product Design award at the 2018 Victorian Premier's Design Awards.