| Design Process: A2 board #22 | Wednesday, 30 April 2014 | leave me ♥? |
This is our a2 draft board.
Tranquility
With kitchen space getting more restricted nowadays and tools continuously increasing due to individual cooking needs, it is become necessary to find a practical solution.
A kitchen tool was designed to help aid in this problem that many housewives have face, so a small, functional and convenient to use was designed. It is a combination of a flip grater and knives, it is also able to grate or slice ingredients and has a safety enclosure attached to it. The colours are in bright so that it is easy to locate this tool.
Tranquility is collapsible and portable as well. Hence, our solution helps to save storage and prevent any injuries possible and having a tool that have multiple functions can save time as well.
I did the front view as well.
| Design Process: Final design #21 | leave me ♥? |
This is the final design for our solution to the problem. After researching on the existing tools in the market and what we should avoid to create a new tool, we created a new product that will solve the problem. This kitchen tool is convenient for the housewives as it is small and useful.
| Design Process: Development on final solution #20 | leave me ♥? |
My group mate and I decided to combined two tools together because they match each other's functions and it save storage space as well. Hence, we designed a small sized grater and knife together like a Swiss pocket knife so that it will be safe to use.
3.3: Development of Ideas
Hence, a suitable kitchen tool were created from combining the flip grater and snap fit paring knives together.
Illustration of process:
I did the final design on Illustrator.
| Design Process: Chosen ideas #19 | Sunday, 27 April 2014 | leave me ♥? |
My group mate and I chose 4 ideas from the 101 Mindmap. We had to do a chart on pros and cons of the ideas.
Idea 1: 2-in-1 tools were chosen because it functions helps to save storage space.
Idea 2: Collapsible measuring cups were also helps to save storage space as well. There are different sizes of the measuring cups and it's able to fold when storing them.
Idea 3: Spiral underground storage is another way of saving space as it's built underground. However, it requires money. Other than that, there's no air conditioner in the storage. Food might rot easily as there will be more heat in the surrounding.
Idea 4: An open-concept kitchen have no limitations to the space. However, there will be no privacy and noise will be able to travel easily since it's an open kitchen.
By doing this chart, we were able to find out what to avoid in creating our final design.
| Design Process: 101 Mindmap (chapter 3) #18 | leave me ♥? |
We had to do a mind map of 101 ideas on solutions to our problem after Chapter 1 and 2 are already completed. The mind map consists of realistic to imaginative ideas.
In my opinion, by doing this mind map helps us in creating new ideas to our problem. Some of the impossible ideas actually helps in creating a final design for the solution. We decided to pick a few ideas and combined them together for the final design.
| Design Process: Sharing of RM #17 | leave me ♥? |
We were given a research method; Survey, Interview and Case study to do. My group mate and I had to do the research method on Survey. We had to share our information with the other groups.
Each of the groups had to present that they had work on. At the end of the lesson, this exercise helped in my research method as well.
| Design Process: Kitchen space then and now #16 | leave me ♥? |
My group mate have done her part on kitchen space on Chapter 1.
1.2: Kitchen spaces then and now
The importance of kitchen spaces is crucial as it defines the amount of storage there can be since there are no control over the space given in HDB flats. From here, a comparison between the kitchen space in HDB flats in the 1980s and recent years will be conducted.
Fig 1.2a A chart stating the sizes of HDB flats in the 1980s to the 2000s
Based on the chart in Fig 1.2a, there is a significant change in the floor area in the 2000s as compared to the 1980s.
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| Fig 1.2b 4-Room model ‘A’ HDB flat with area size of 105 square metres |
Fig 1.2c An average HDB flat size in 2008
Judging from the living space itself, it clearly states that HDB flats in the 1980s have bigger living space as it has a total of 105 square metres in a 4-room HDB flat whereas a 4-room HDB flat in the 2008s have a total area of only 90 square metres.
Fig 1.2d Demand for flats in the 1976s to 1991s
Fig 1.2e Demand for flats in the 2007s to 2009s Furthermore, the cause of the decrease in area space in HDB flats over the years were caused by the high demand of HDB flats.
Hence, from this research, it is proven that the living space of HDB flats now are getting significantly smaller as compared to old HDB flats. In addition, with the decrease in living space, the kitchen space will decrease together as well, as seen from Fig 1.2b and 1.2c, the layout of the flat has a outstanding difference in kitchen area size. With Singapore getting more and more developed over the years, the new HDB flat sizes are decreasing remarkably.
In my opinion, a country like Singapore with limited land spaces will be hard to make kitchen space spacious due to the population. The only way to solve this is to make full use of the space given. By having tools that have multiple functions rather than tools with less functions.
| Design Process: Survey #15 | leave me ♥? |
My group mate made an online survey at the "surveymonkey" website and few days later, she left unexpectedly. So left the two of us to continue on doing her part.
By doing a survey, we will be able to find out which is the main space problem.
In my opinion, from this survey tells me that insufficient of storage/space was the main problem rather than over the limit of tools. My group mate and I had a better understanding of the problem after conducting the survey.
| Design Process: Interview #14 | leave me ♥? |
My group mate made a trip to interview two pregnant housewives about living bounds in their kitchen. Her intention was to find out which give them more problems whether it's the kitchen space or tools storage space.
Stacy is 3 months pregnant and she does not have any jobs to commit to thus she stays home everyday to make sure she have ample rest. On a side note, Stacy does not have any helper at home and she stays in a 4-rooms HDB flat with a small kitchen.
Interview with Stacy Lim
Me: How old are you this year?
A: 28 years old.
Me: You are pregnant for how many months?
A: 3 months now.
Me: Do you cook often? If so, do you experience any inconveniences cooking or moving in the kitchen?
A: Yes, I do experience difficulties moving around because the space is small and the stove area is not very big.
Me: Do you think the problem lies in the space of the kitchen or the number of tools you have?
A: I think both affects the space I have in the kitchen. Since I have quite a handful of pots and pans lying around but the cupboards in the kitchen is not enough to keep my tools.
Me: Why did you purchase so many pots since they all serve the same function?
A: Some pots come in a set and at times I will be cooking more than a dish at a time, so more pots, more convenient.
Me: Do you think kitchen spaces are getting smaller? Why do you think so?
A: It is definitely getting smaller. My mom’s kitchen is bigger than mine. I heard from my mom that people used to complain that the space is too big so now they decrease *laughs *
Victoria is a 31 years old, 5 months pregnant housewife. Unlike Stacy, Victoria has work to commit to on weekdays. Hence, on weekends, Victoria spends most of her time in the kitchen. However, moving around in the kitchen is not a problem for Victoria as she lives in a 5-rooms HDB flat with a spacious kitchen.
Interview with Victoria Wee
Me: How old are you this year?
A: 31 years old
Me: You are pregnant for how many months?
A: 5 months
Me: Do you cook often? If so, do you experience any inconveniences cooking or moving in the kitchen?
A: Yes, I cook 1-2 meals a day. I have no problem moving around my kitchen although it is not very big but I do have problem cooking because my tools are all in a mess on the table.
Me: Do you think the problem lies in the space of the kitchen or the number of tools you have?
A: The problem is definitely caused by the tools. I have a lot of tools ranging from baking to cooking and there is just insufficient storage space for me to store them.
Me: Why did you purchase so many tools?
A: Sometimes they are on a cheap sale so I just had to get it and baking usually need a lot of different tools.
Me: Do you have any tools that serves the same function but in different sizes? Why?
A: I do have tools like that. I bought them in different sizes because I wanted different size of cakes and sometimes my pans and pots are of different sizes just because they are cheap.
| Design Process: Comparison of tools (chapter 1) #13 | Thursday, 6 March 2014 | leave me ♥? |
Many gadgets in the market are designed to make the process quicker and less difficult. Some of them look fancy but provide less functions. We don't need every gadgets out there but with basic cooking skills. The right tools can make cooking simple and pleasurable.
Comparison on knives:
The five Sabatier blades with curved anti-slip handles are clearly displayed in their acrylic stand. They are made out of empty grounds stainless steel blades. The purpose of the five blades are for cutting, carving, utility and shredding.
Comparison on spoons:
The Sur La Table spoon is made out of stainless steel that scoops like any other spoons.
Mini Supoon has a rare handled design which sits the spoon up and off the bench. It is also great for serving flavorings and measure perfect teaspoon. It is made out of silicon which is safe to use on non-stick cookware and is heat resistant to 260˚C/ 500˚F. It is also able to scrape out every last piece of food from the pan or bowl with the flat silicone scraping top and bendable spoon sides.
Comparing both of them, Sur La Table have less function while Mini Supoon have multiple ways of using it. Having tools that only have less functions, it will be better of having a tool that have several functions to save storage space.
| Design Process: Chapter 1 of Report #12 | leave me ♥? |
Chapter 1 of the report was about, "too many kitchen tools, too little space." It consists of persona, comparisons of kitchen space and tools. My group mate have done her part on persona of housewives. She made a table and filled it with information of the persona.
She wrote her experience being in the shoes of the persona as well.
After reading and understanding of the persona that my group made did, I think by having a tidy and organized kitchen is absolutely important as it can save time for the stakeholder. With an organized kitchen area, the walking space will be spacious and making movements will be easy and comfortable. | Design Process: Case Study on baking tools #11 | leave me ♥? |
This case study is on baking tools and ways of organizing them. A kitchen gadget that fulfills vital and basic functions. From this case study, there are tools in the market that can save storage space.
The consumer lives in a small apartment with two other people so the storage spaces are lesser. Space is always an issue, she uses the measuring cups and spoons everyday as she loves to bake. Keeping the tools that are in different shapes and sizes in the drawer took so much space in the drawer that she had to dig through to find what she need and it gets very messy. She finds her measuring cups and tools bulky thus she decided to look for tools that can help to save space.
Since everything is collapsible it definitely saves storage space. It is great for any kitchen without much storage space. This knowledge assisted me that there are tools in the market that save storage space. You do not really have to buy tools that have the same function but with different shapes and sizes. You can also save time to find the tools when you need them if you do not have so many same tool of the same kind with different sizes.
| Design Process: Research Methodology #10 | Monday, 3 March 2014 | leave me ♥? |
There's a sub-topic under Chapters called, "Research Methodology" and it is very important part of the report. It means research methods that we had use. We are going to use 3 different methods for the project which are the interview, survey and case study.
As I'm in charge of the case study, I plan to do a case study on kitchen tools. I am looking forward to find tools that are able to save storage space because our topic involve kitchen space or tools. By collecting informations, we will have a better understanding of our solutions.
| Design Process: Report Writing #9 | leave me ♥? |
We had learn about writing a report for our project and to decide a stakeholder. We chose housewives as our target audience because it is a normal issue for housewives to have their opinions on the kitchen spaces and tools.
But we are focusing on certain parts first. A preface is mainly about the ideas we have for the project and research intent is about our objective of doing certain research and why is that so. The chapters contains of other research development.
| Design Process: Proposal #8 | Friday, 31 January 2014 | leave me ♥? |
We had to submit the proposal last Wednesday before we go for our two days break because of Chinese New Year.
(click the picture)
The purpose of writing the proposal is what we think is the main problems and why is that so. This is not an easy task to complete the proposal without proper information. I guess it's important to put the bibliography after that as the information is not our original ideas.
| Design Process: Bibliography #7 | leave me ♥? |
We were taught about how important to credit people for their sources and how to write a bibliography using the NAFA style guide. It was totally confusing and it took up some time for me to completed it. I'm surprised that there are many ways to write a bibliography.
Source: https://www.google.com.
| Design Process: Other stakeholders #6 | Thursday, 30 January 2014 | leave me ♥? |
While my stakeholder is on Baker, my group mates's stake holders are Chef and housewives. Chef and housewives usually spent most of their time in the kitchen.
A roughly description on the stakeholders:
Chef Profile
30 years old (male)
Works as a chef in a restaurant
Housewives Profile
Ms Desiree
23 years old
Married with a 6 years old child (child is attending kindergarten)
5 months pregnant
Husband is the sole breadwinner (comes home late at night)
| Design Process: Stakeholders #5 | leave me ♥? |
Stakeholder Profile:
Source: http://www.zazzle.com/vintage_food_baker_with_pastries_and_desserts_sticker-217095020154752669
Baker Maxwell
35 years old (male)
Loves to bake
Owns 2 bakery shops
Bake desserts (cakes)
Ordering ingredients
Take orders
Maintaining the shop cleanliness himself
Loves to bake
Owns 2 bakery shops
Bake desserts (cakes)
Ordering ingredients
Take orders
Maintaining the shop cleanliness himself
Imagine myself being a 35 years old baker that owns 2 bakery shops.
I have to wake up at 5 a.m morning everyday to open both shops and make preparations. However, being the boss, there are many difficulties for me. Checking the ingredients for both shops and whenever the ingredients are insufficient, I need them to be restocked.
After making preparations, I have to start baking cakes, muffins and other desserts as well. While baking, I realized that there were some tools missing when the kitchen gets messy. I had to look for them everywhere by opening the drawers and cupboards. With just limited space for me to move, it causes me to feel frustrated and discomfort. I have to help at the counter, taking orders when there wasn't enough workers for that day too.
I spent my day at the main bakery shop. At the end of the day, I have to wash the tools and clean the shop. Most of the tools are bulky and I faced some difficulties washing them. I have to use force to clean the batter that stuck on the tools as it's difficult to remove.
Imagine myself repeating this routine everyday, I would be super tired handling both shops. In my opinion, having a neat and tidy kitchen is important because it would save time for those who are using the kitchen. Organizing the tools and utensils in place as well. The space of the kitchen would be bigger so that when making movements it's easy and comfortable.
| Design Process: Mindmap #4 | Thursday, 23 January 2014 | leave me ♥? |
Our first group activity was to make a mind map based on our chosen topic. We were told to attached our mind map during the second lesson of Design process. The outcome of our presentation was good because we were able to tell the audience about the problems that we may face in situation when the kitchen is too messy with the tools.
(click the picture for a better view for reading)
But I didn't get to talk during the presentation and I felt bad towards my group members. We were the first group to present. I might be able to present if Miss Marienne told us earlier that we were not suppose to talked about the solutions based on our topic. We were also taught how stakeholders can help us to empathize the users so that we are able to understand them better and how they feel.
| Design Process: History of Kitchen tools #3 | leave me ♥? |
A kitchen tools is a small utensil that is used in the kitchen for food related functions. A cooking tools is a tools that used in the kitchen for cooking.
Kitchenware are wares for the kitchen. Ovenware and bakeware are kitchen tools that are used inside ovens and for baking. Lastly, cookware are used for cooking and so on. The word "ware" describe the kitchen tools from a merchandising and functional point of view.
Benjamin Thompson started of the 18th century that kitchen tools were typically made of copper with various efforts that made to prevent the copper from reacting with food (its acidic contents) at the temperatures used for cooking. He observed that iron had used as a substitute and some tools were made of earthenware.
In the 20th century, Maria Parloa noted that kitchen tools were made up of iron, steel, copper, nickel silver, tin, clay, aluminium. Aluminium became a popular material for kitchen tools during the 20th century.
Tools have changed over the years and they comes in different sizes and shapes. But what's the point of having them with different shapes and sizes which leads to lack of space?