College assignment, need insights!

Hi guys! So the college professor assigned us a project, including the research pages, of any product that is used in kitchens. I was thinking about a blade-less blender, a portable dishwasher or a portable kitchen overall like portable stove, etc…

What do you guys think? Any suggestion guys? Or any more ideas =D

Peclat,

First, I am not the biggest fan of teachers giving students that broad of a topic. There is just too much rope on hand…

Anyway, I would suggest purchasing (or finding a donor) current product for whatever you chose. For example, if you are doing a toaster that can handle 4 slices of bread, get one that does the same. Take is apart. Force yourself to use a (or a lot) current production internal component(s) from the “donor” product. This will bring a sense or grounding to the project. Plus, it gives you a unique (and real world) starting point.

Just my $.02.

How long is this project? This will dictate what you can actually tackle. If its only a few weeks long then your going to have to stick to something a bit simple like a hand held juicer. If you have a bit longer then you can take on a more complex piece of equipment.


Whats the focus of the project? It simply cant be redesign a kitchen product, and if that is the problem you need to narrow it down yourself. Is your focus going to be on ergonomics, usability, form, new tech, expand a brand line, etc.?

Find something in the kitchen you don’t like using. Can openers, blenders, and cheese graters usually have some usability issues. Or go a bit outside the standard kitchen, there’s a lot of fun stuff being done with portable cooking gear. Camping equipment is something to look into.

Well, I have a week to handle a 100 thumbnail sketches of a product that I chose. It has to solve a problem as well as being ergonomics, etc. I was thinking of a blade-less blender. What do you guys think?

Sorry, but how does a blender blend without blades?

And also, a 100?! you best stop thinking and start sketching!

Nylon strings

Why? What’s the benefit of strings to blades? You need to find a problem to solve. It shouldn’t just be “oh it could use strings instead of blades I’ll base my project off of that” because you’ll hate the project, especially if you have to do 100 sketches of nylon string blenders.

Choose something you really feel passionate about and hate.

First, using a string instead of a blade would make the blender way hygienic, way easier to clean and way safer. Second, I couldn’t really find any kitchen object that I’m passionate about.

Speaking from my experience with school projects, I have usually found that the projects that were the furthest outside of my personal comfort zones and tastes were the most interesting because I really couldn’t be my own consumer and I had to talk to people who were. Maybe don’t be concerned about you being passionate about it, but consumers being passionate about wanting something better.

I think, like everyone else is saying, starting with a problem is the best road to take. Go to Amazon, pick a product and start reading the 1 and 2 star rating reviews, find out what people are hating about certain products, might be a way to get on track.

When you’re talking about nylon strings do you mean like a weed whacker that’s a blender almost? I think starting the project based more on a novel technology can be risky because you might end up with something that looks like it would be sold in SkyMall, quirky and good for a chuckle but probably doesn’t have mass market appeal.

Good luck with the project and start posting up your progress, it’s definitely something I plan on doing with my projects when I start up again in the winter and something that I should have started a long time ago.

Also, unless you’re using a new string each blending cycle (wasteful!) I’m not sure if a dinged up piece of nylon string would be more hygienic than a stainless steel blade. There’s a reason why stainless is used in surgical instruments.

Surgical stainless steel, also often referred to as implant grade stainless steel. Like other forms of steel, surgical stainless steel is nonporous. While steel isn’t truly stainless, as the name implies, its nonporous quality makes it highly stain –resistant, since surface substances can be easily wiped away. This quality is particularly important for surgical applications because dirt, grime and microbes can’t penetrate the metals surface, so it is highly hygienic and easily sterilized.