The Cleft Collection

Each year, over 100,000 children in Asia are born with cleft lip and palate – birth defects that turn the simple act of eating into a daily struggle. Leaving parents constantly worried their child is not getting enough nutrition, that they will not flourish and that their life will have limited potential due to prejudice against their physical appearance. Smile Asia is a global alliance of charities funding surgeries to correct cleft lip and palate. Entirely dependent on the generosity of its donors, Smile Asia needed them to feel the problem at a much deeper level – to get as close as possible to experiencing cleft for themselves. In essence, to get the donations to pay for the surgeries, we had to make it personal. We needed to design an experience that was unlike any other the donors had previously had. One that would drive home to the participants the real-life effects this facial deformity has on these children – beyond the obvious aesthetics.
Our solution: The Cleft Collection – a unique set of cutlery specially designed with a cleft of its own. Each utensil has its own cleft-shaped missing piece, so that not only does it visually mimic the condition, it also makes eating frustratingly difficult. Allowing diners to experience – if only for a single meal – what every meal is like for children with cleft, and how difficult it is to consume the necessary calories to grow, let alone to flourish.