Covid-19 Design Innovations

We already accept it as a fact that the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic will change things in terms of commercial interior design. Whether it’s improvements meant to help with social distancing even after the end of the quarantine, or simple gadgets that answer problems we never knew we had before – it’s already happening. These are a few of the Covid-19 design innovations that have already been born out of the Coronavirus global crisis.

Photo above via yankodesign.com

Hands-Free Door Handle

Designed by architects Ivo Tedbury and Freddie Hong, this is a simple device that helps you sneak out of public restrooms without having to touch the door. The 3D-printed handle is a curved plastic accessory that can easily be attached with cable ties, which makes it usable with the already existing pull door handles. Thanks to this device, you can use your arm instead of your hand to open the door – and benefit for more than a few seconds from what you achieved by washing your hands.

Photo via dezeen.com

Self-Sanitizing Door Handle

If you are looking for an exciting, effective and elegant solution to the door handle problem, here it is. Designed by Hong-Kong-based students Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li, this lava-lamp-like handle consists of a glass tube whose coating reacts with UV light to start a chemical reaction that leads to decomposing bacteria. The self-sanitizing handle kills 99.8% of the microbes and uses the energy of the moving door to produce light.

Photo via yankodesign.com

No-Touch Multitool

Helpful in opening doors but extending its features beyond just that, the Stay Safe Carabiner created by Dominik Nemec is designed to perform the little actions your hand does, such as grabbing, pulling, turning or pressing. This allows you to use keypads, grab onto handles on the subway, carry grocery bags etc. without any contact with these surfaces. The multitool is made of copper and naturally antimicrobial, so that the germs that get on it are neutralized in less than an hour.

Photo via yankodesign.com

Counter Sneeze Guards

We have already seen them making their appearance in stores, and we assume they will become more and more a staple in commercial spaces. The freestanding, portable counter sneeze guards from Woodland Manufacturing are ready to be used without any need for installation, can be moved from one spot to another and are easy to clean.

Photo: Woodland Manufacturing

Delivery-Only Restaurants

Once the quarantine is over, it will probably take a while until at least some of the former restaurant goers will fall into the old habits of dining out. It seems to be just the right time for a new type of restaurant to make its mark: the delivery-only kind. Restaurants such as Bon Appétit, Delivered of Chicago, for instance, are excellent examples of a concept perfectly adapted to the reality of our times.

Photo: Alex Lau, Bon Appétit via trendhunter.com

Social Distancing Parks

Tall hedges and elegant maze-like paths are a winning combination for the romantic at heart. It seems that the Coronavirus crisis, with its social distancing demands, has turned the concept into a potentially life-saving solution. One of our favorite Covid-19 design innovations, Parc de la Distance by Precht is an outdoor space where people can follow hedge-bordered gravel paths while staying safe.

Photo: Precht via trendhunter.com

If you are thinking to open up a new business or in a process of rebranding and remodeling your existing business, contact us to get a free consultation from Mindful Design Consulting. Click HERE to price your project design.

Also, take a look at “Branding By Interior” e-book, the only book written on this subject at this time. It brings insight on how you can turn your business into a market-dominating competitor by using human cognitive responses.