I started KYT with a goal to redefine life with diabetes by redesigning the bags and cases we use to carry diabetes equipment on the daily.
It’s the mission that still carries us today (more on that mission here).
One of the most surprising (and pinch me) parts of the journey has been seeing the design community respond to what we’ve created through that mission.
Back in 2018, our very first KYT Crossbody design picked up a Silver Award for empowering user experience at the Best Design Awards – Australasia’s biggest design show. No mean feat for a design we took a punt on! I’ve shared more about the development of our very first (and turns out, very award-winning) bag here.
Then in 2019, we found ourselves on a plane to London with a few weeks’ notice, pitching KYT to a judging panel at the D&AD Design Festival. D&AD is one of the world's most respected design organisations, and we entered their Side Hustle category for businesses being built alongside a day job.
We got the chance to stand on stage and explain why life with diabetes deserves great design.
The judges were encouraging, supportive and we walked away with second place. Not bad for a tiny business from New Zealand.
The years since have brought even more recognition.
Our expanded KYT Collection was recognised across multiple categories at the 2024 Best Design Awards, including product design, packaging, graphics and brand identity.
One of my favourite moments was seeing KYT named among Dezeen's selection of the world's 59 most outstanding designs for 2024.
And perhaps the biggest pinch-me moment of all? Being invited back to the Best Design Awards as a judge in 2025. Full-circle recognition of me as a designer, getting the privilege to see the next wave of design challenges and ideas, and recognise others just like me who are on a mission to bring them to life.
Our design success is shared with the hundreds of people with diabetes we’ve talked to and learned from as part of creating and evolving the KYT collection. I’ve shared more about how those conversations have shaped every feature, zip and angle here.
Awards themselves have never been the goal, but every bit of recognition helps prove something we've believed from the beginning: people managing diabetes deserve thoughtful, beautiful and genuinely useful design.
We'll keep working on that part.
Bridget xx
Designer & Diabetic
