Enamel to detect the rape drug, the project
Enamel to detect the rape drug
A nail polish that identifies the rape drug in a drink, to be kept ready in the handbag. It is the simple and ingenious idea of four young students of the Packaging Design course of Naba - New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan: they called it Crisà lys and it is a nail polish that reacts, changing color, when it comes into contact with any drugs . How? By tapping his finger in the cocktail, he is able to identify the presence of substances in a drink.Crisà lys is among the 100 projects running for Prototypes for Humanity, the platform-showcase that annually presents the best innovation and research projects selected from academic excellence from all over the world: at this edition year, which takes place at the Dubai International Financial Center in Dubai from 14 to 17 November, there will be some 450 universities from all over the world. Among these, also the University of Trento and, in fact, Naba of Milan. Up for grabs, for this first edition of the Prototypes for Humanity Awards, 100 thousand dollars to be divided between the four winners of the different categories (environment, health, society, solutions).
Prototypes for Humanity is the new name of the Global Grade Show, which until a few years ago was a "simple" exhibition focused on innovative design: now the project - sponsored by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and member of the Dubai Council, with the Dubai international financial center (Difc) as the main partner and with the support of Dubai Culture and Arm Holding - it has taken on a completely new and more challenging, configuring itself as the largest program in the world dedicated to academic talent across various disciplines, in search of ideas that can change the world, with a concrete and positive impact on our immediate future.
Crisà lys, a project by Naba students aged between 22 and 25, Marta Bartesaghi, Gaia D'Ettore, Alessia Radaelli and Jeannette Rubino, has all the right cards to attract attention of the audience and the jury of the award.
It is Marta Bartesaghi, on behalf of everyone, who explains its genesis to sportsgaming.win: "The conception of Crisà lys stems from a fact that we read during the research phase and that impressed us very much: in America , 18% of women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Right from the start, our desire was to think of a 'solution' that could allow women, and others, to feel protected from this silent crime. So we thought of an anti-rape nail polish that in contact with drugs could react by highlighting their possible presence inside a drink. The substances to which the enamel reacts are dangerous as they are odorless and tasteless, for this reason they are secretly placed in glasses, in order to make them drink unknowingly to the victim. We have designed a comfortable shape, to always carry with you, even without a bag, thanks to the practical carabiner. The nail polish is designed to be transparent, so as not to ruin any manicure already present on the nails and to be used by everyone without distinction of gender ".
The name? "It comes from an English word, Chrysalism, which embodies the goal of our product and means" the tranquility of feeling at home during the storm ", but to make the name simpler and more legible we played with the letters shortening it to Crisà lys", Bartesaghi says. The claim is “Prioritize your peace”, “precisely because it is a nail polish that not only protects your nails but your soul”, say the girls in the presentation of the project.
None of them, for personal reasons, will be able to be in Dubai during the days of the event: a fact that would have resulted in their disqualification to avoid which Luca Ferreccio, senior lecturer, will go, presenting the idea in the best possible way Graphic Design Area by Naba, the teacher who followed and stimulated the students to participate in the event. With him we try to better understand the value of this project: “One thing must be specified immediately - he explains on the phone to sportsgaming.win -. The study of this innovative nail polish and the technology behind it was finalized by a group of American students who devised the chemical formula. The purpose of our courses, when we work on packaging design, is precisely to do research on what is already in circulation, starting from there to generate something new: Crisà lys is openly inspired by this technology, but creates a new product, a Non-invasive "detector", but which with its particular design enters everyday life, we could say in an easy way, with an almost carefree language ".
A handbag polish or to attach to a carabiner on the belt, to carry around comfortably. "The students worked on a project that had an important social impact, but without forgetting environmental sustainability: the enamel bottle is made of bioplastic and can be bought only once, it is a durable object to be preserved and filled with refills of enamel from more sustainable packaging ”, concludes the teacher.
