COVID-19 has generated not only unprecedented health problems but also collateral drawbacks such as lack of supply materials, bottlenecks on local productive chains and a big sense of uncertainties in many aspects of life, showing us two sides of the same coin of this worldwide health emergency .The production of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, face shields, helmets
... [Show full abstract] and goggles, are just a few examples of new basic needs in society to deal with this enormous challenge. The case of design of PPE gear based on synthetic materials , specifically on devices like FACE SHIELD is a clear demonstration that facing adversity people use creativity in order to fight against the sense of vulnerability. The case study of ERGO, a facial barrier developed by the Design Research Laboratory , will be presented from its creative design process, manufacturing and distribution procedure during the worldwide health crisis in the south of South America .T his article describes not only the experience of a management and co-design model under the criteria of optimization of resources, but also in how to transfer knowledge in teaching activities, specifically on social design contribution from university to society.
