Germany used to be known for having the fastest emergency response times. By law, an ambulance should arrive no later than 8 minutes after an emergency call. But this has changed dramatically. Every second emergency response is delayed. With the omnipresence of smartphones, gawking has become a huge issue. Gawkers take photos of victims and impede life-saving rescue operations with their morbid curiosity. Although it became a criminal offense in January 2021, action is rarely taken against gawking.

We made smartphones, which are the cause of the problem, into the solution. Together with one of Germany's biggest rescue organizations, the Johanniter Unfall-Hilfe, we developed the Anti-Look. An innovative digital pattern based on the latest multi-angle QR-technology, covering ambulance vehicles, paramedics, and equipment, to trick every smartphone camera on the market. When a smartphone is being pointed at a rescue operation, a message will pop up on the display - confronting onlookers with their wrongdoing and directing their attention away from the accident.

Gawkers are people who risk other people's lives just to get a good look and sharp pictures of victims and this affects emergency response times. So, we took advantage of the fact that modern smartphone cameras automatically recognize QR codes. We hid the QR-Codes in our design pattern so that gawkers can't see them at first glance but are in for a nasty surprise as soon as they attempt to take photos of our operations.

We created a new rescue design based on the pattern of a QR-code. In doing so, we managed to get around the strict German design guidelines for rescue equipment. Covering cars, paramedics, and equipment. To make this possible, we used the new technology of multi-angle QR-codes which works on moving objects and inclined surfaces – fitting to the reality of a rescue operation.

We managed to establish the Johanniter Unfall-Hilfe as an innovative rescue organization that tackles a big societal problem. Creating a media impact for the topic and increasing people's awareness of the dangers of gawking. All Johanniter ambulances throughout Germany will be equipped with the Anti-Look.