University of Brighton graduates' product celebrated at international event

The Enayball – a device which makes traditional art equipment such as pens and brushes accessible to wheelchair users and others with limited dexterity – was developed by Eli Heath and Pete Barr, who graduated in 2018 with BSc (Hons) in Product Design with Professional Experience.

The product was one of 150 global projects highlighted at the annual Global Grad Show.

The international event highlights research and ideas offering solutions to social and environmental issues, bringing together graduates and academics from 600 universities in over 70 countries.

The duo said after the event: "We believe in the enormous power of user-centred design and the impact it can make on societal issues. We recognise the marginalization of people with disabilities in the creative community, and in particular, that their needs for usable art products were unserved. We want to challenge this."

Attached to a wheelchair at floor level or used on a table top by hand, the Enayball is said to offer 360 degree movement, translating the smallest movements of the wheelchair or hand into precise, powerful strokes.

After developing the prototype in the Sussex MS centre and then graduating from university, Mr Heath and Mr Barr formed a company to take the Enayball project forward commercially.

Since then, the duo have won the 2020 Deutsche Bank Award for Creative Entrepreneurs and the 2021 Dyson Award, established a collaboration with artist Alison Lapper MBE, and joined the Central Research Laboratory - the UK’s first purpose-built hardware accelerator for product designers inventing ‘for societal good’.

Click here to see the Enayball Instagram page.

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