2018 Winners & Shortlists

THE LIGHT PIN PROJECT

Short List
BrandUNILEVER
Product/ServiceOMO
EntrantRÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON
CategoryCreative Innovation
Idea Creation RÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON
Media Placement RÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON
PR RÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON
Production RÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON

The Campaign

All the camps we visited looked pretty much the same. Tent after tent with lines of laundry hanging outside. Everywhere we walked we saw laundry lines. The idea was clear, an average clothespin spends around 8 hours in the sun everyday, we took those hours and decided to put them to good use. We created LightPin, the world's first clothespin equipped with solar panels. Each clothespin would be able to store enough energy during the day to light up an LED lamp at night.

Creative Execution

LightPin is first and foremost a clothespin. We wanted it to have the same design. We designed it to be the same size and have the same functionalities as a clothespin in order for it to have a multi-use aspect as well as be familiar and practical for people in low income areas. We also wanted it to be compact as space is limited in refugee camps. We started by deconstructing a regular clothespin and seeing which was the best way for the sun to hit it and how much larger did it have to be to be able to fit a battery large enough to light up a small LED lamp all night. We ended up with 2 solar panels, a charging board and 2 Batterys, one on each Peg connected to a universal USB that would distribute the energy stored. The Pin worked perfectly, left all day in the sun, it would store enough energy. We are now at a stage of designing for mass production, the goal of the brand is not for LightPin to help refugees just in Lebanon, but for it to become a small scale global solution for people living in low income areas.

On a humanitarian level, the results have been outstanding. LightPin has already been integrated into the daily lives of refugees in several camps around Lebanon and the feedback we are getting is tremendous. Refugees that are using it love the fact that it doesn't need to come with a handbook, you simply do your laundry during the day and bring it in your home at night. Request for more LightPins are faster than we can deliver and we are now developing ways to mass produce. With LightPin, OMO has positioned itself as a truly innovative brand with a focus on sustainability and social responsibility. As we mass produce LightPin and put it in more hands around the world, the brand will have not only carved a name for itself as an innovation brand but will have potentially helped millions of people around the world lead a safer and better life.

This is work is relevant to Innovation Lynx because we created a product that is first of it's kind. We innovated a product for the greater good of people.

Credits

Name Company Role
Fadi Mroue Republique Executive Creative Director
Jihad Harmoush Republique Account Director
Sevag Babikian Republique Technologist
Vrouyr Joubanian Republique Product Designer
Eddy Mattar Republique Digital Designer
Khaled Ben Ahmad Republique Digital Designer