Cutlery Redesign
Ergonomics exercise to redesign eating utensils highlighting the design and iterative process.
Designed and modeled in Fall 2021 through a process exploring the motion of cutting a steak with a knife and fork.
The first phase is made from cardboard and focuses on the curvature of the fork as well as the profile/cut-out shape. Next these forks were tested and ranked and the top 4 versions were iterated upon. For the knives, the process began with sketching out different shapes and were translated to cardboard versions for testing. The best fork and knife that resulted from the testing were made into a new model using metal utensils as a base and creating a cardboard profile that was then covered in paper mâché. These models were painted white with green highlights to draw attention to how the user is intended to pick up and use the utensils.
As another iteration of this model, I turned to pink foam as my modeling material in order to explore more 3D forms. I carved the foam and sanded it to match the profiles of the paper mâché knife and fork but more round and full.
The next steps to consider with this project is to get people to test the handles to see if the shape and size truly meets ergonomic needs by the hands of users. Further inquiries can then be made concerning the materiality, production process, and settings these utensils would be in.
