About this Project:

In this “Utensil Challenge,” we created a specific kind of utensil to make it easier to eat a particular kind of food. We are required to work in pairs to identify a dish that is particularly challenging to eat (in this case, tacos) and develop a better method of doing so. Six different stages were required of us, during which we planned and modified our design in response to input. We first made 10 different ideas of food utensil designs. Then chose the top 3 and allowed others to give us feedback. Last but not least, we chose our final design and improved it as much as we can.

All of Our Ideas:

During our brainstorming session, my partner and I came up with a total of ten ideas for ten different types of food that we find difficult to eat. Tacos were the first thing that came to mind. We came to the conclusion that everyone finds tacos a challenge to eat because the fillings always fall out.

So, in order to support the taco shell and prevent us from squeezing the fillings out, my partner and I designed a V-shaped taco holder. In order to push the taco out and allow a portion of it to come out of the taco holder (so that we may bite it), the taco holder also has a V-shaped plate at the back. There is a “railway-like” connection between this plate and the holder. There is a rubber handle located beneath the taco holder as well. Our hands won’t get dirty thanks to this handle. We also developed several other unique taco eating tools as a result of the taco holder concept. This taco idea, as well as the overall Mexican vibe, inspired us to create something very similar, but for burritos.

Then we remembered fast food and realized that chicken legs and drumsticks were difficult to eat as well, because the sauce always stains our hands, and the bone is also difficult to separate. As a result, we designed a silicone cover to go over the area where we hold the bone. To solve the bone separation issue, we devised a triangle-shaped design. The triangle shape keeps the bone from flying by force, while the two inner sticks can penetrate the chicken wing and separate the bones. This way, we would have two mini chicken wings/legs to eat. 

Then, thinking about other fast food resulted in the idea of a big hamburger. They are very difficult to cut and eat and they fit in your mouth. So I wanted to decompress and suck out all the oxygen and deflate the burger. But then we realized that if the oxygen ran out, the vegetables would dry out too, making the burgers very unpleasant. After careful consideration, we realized that these burgers may not be eaten the right way even with an utensil. The whole concept and tradition of these giant burgers is to be made difficult to eat. So we stopped trying and decided to leave it at that.

At this stage, my partner and I were having trouble thinking of concepts and challenging meals to eat. Then we understood that we needed to adopt new perspectives. Instead of thinking of desserts foods that we can snack on, we place a lot of emphasis on foods that we can eat for one meal. My partner and I finally thought of the idea: Ice cream/popsicles, the most classic and refreshing dessert. However, the drawback is that they melt very quickly, without giving you time to enjoy it. The ice cream slides down each time they melt, leaving your hands sticky from the sugar. Therefore, my partner and I developed this ice cream stick handle. Since this hand is also silicone, it can be stretched to fit any popsicle stick. It also has a bowl-like structure on top so if the ice cream drips, it can drip in there. This is very easy to use and we can wash it as well. 

After considering desserts, we came up with the idea of fruits. Most fruits are all very easy to eat, but those with seeds are less enticing. It is annoying to spit out the seeds repeatedly. A fruit with seeds is an excellent illustration of grapes. So, we created a miniature cylinder-shaped device that enables the seeds to protrude from the vine’s opening. The concept of salad was inspired by fruits because they are also nutritious and may be consumed raw. Since you can’t obtain a lot of vegetables in one bite, which would damage the texture and flavor.

My partner and I created a fork, which is designed with a much longer end so that more vegetables can be pierced through. We also made the ends sharper so it can pierce through vegetables/fruits more easily without squirting the juice out. Finally, my partner and I went back to the idea of fast food and thought about instant noodles. It is difficult to control the time, and sometimes the noodles are overcooked. We created this timer that would automatically open the cap as soon as the instant noodles are ready.

Feedback & Refinement:

After many eliminations and decisions, my partner and I decided to go with the three designs which are: the taco, chicken leg holder, and the instant noodle timer. We wanted to focus on the fast food theme, while also having diverse ideas. We received a lot of feedback from many people. Some are excessively broad, while others are the same concept. As a result, we reduced it to a few key concepts and chose to build upon them. In addition, my partner and I also developed a few independent concepts that were inspired by the responses. For example, someone said, “You should make taco holders for both V-shaped and O-shaped tacos”. My partner and I knew that “O-shaped tacos” were burritos, so this idea wasn’t very useful because we’re only making it for tacos. However, it did lead us to think that we should make our taco holder utensil to different sizes so any taco would fit in there. To add on to this, another person also wrote, “wish it could fit every taco”, this perfectly connects with our current idea so we knew that it was something we should improve. When someone else stated. “The machine isn’t washable,” it is another excellent example of feedback. That’s when my partner and I realized that we needs to reduce the complexity of the structure of the instant noodle (make it waterproof) and taco holding machine and make it easier to clean. So, we made the instant noodle timer waterproof and had the idea of making the taco holder fold, instead of having a “railway-like” slide with little details in it (sauce can go in there and it would be hard to get it out). 

There were also comments saying asking, “is the timer going to be hot when the noodles are done cooking?”. This inspired my partner and I to think of the concept of making the timer out of an electric insulator. Because insulators don’t carry electricity, the timer won’t get too hot to hold. We could also create a rubber cover for the timer that prevents heat from the device from getting on your hands. Some feedback, however, could not be used because they were about the format of the explanation for my design rather than the actual thing I was designing. This wouldn’t help me because my final product isn’t in the format of my brainstorm.

My partner and I also tried to keep the part that people liked best. However, it may be difficult because the changes we made for the improvements made it challenging to retain some of the good parts. As a result, we incorporated the elements that people liked in their feedback into our new and improved design. The taco holder design was our final decision because, in our opinion , it would be the most useful. This improvement also has received the most input from others and has a lot of potential. Before the adjustment, our taco holder design measured an average taco size. It had a V-shaped plate that could be slid through the holder and pushed out to eat the taco (which is very hard to wash). It also had a larger and heavy handle to grip. But now, you can change the size of the taco holder to whatever size you want. It can be washed easily and shrunk to half its original size. Although the handle remains the same size as it must have a good grip, you can still remove it from the taco holder so it fits easily in your bag.

Reflection On My Project:

My partner and I settled on the taco holder design as our best option. This taco holder is comparable to the one I described previously. You can place a taco on its V-shaped holder, which has the same form as a taco. You can hold the handle that connects it. The holder is also telescopic. It is divided into two parts. The narrower component at the back can be slipped within the thicker part at the front, which is shaped like a tube. In this manner, the tube may be changed to fir any size taco by adjusting it to your desired size. The compactness and compatibility of this design are its strengths as well. The handle can be taken off and the holder can be put in half. This makes it easier to carry. Since it’s telescopic, it is also easy to wash. Unlike our first taco holder design, these two parts can be extended and washed, there also aren’t any small gaps so the food wouldn’t be stuck inside. In addition, the slippery material would be easy for the smaller part to side into. This taco holder can also last for a long time because it would either be made from stainless steel or plastic. These two materials are unlikely to be damaged and won’t rust, they are also completely waterproof.

But the weaknesses of this design is that it is heavy to take. The big handle and holder would weigh a lot. Although it is very unlikely that the food would get stuck inside of the bigger part, it could be hard to wash as well, because the opening is very small. Since the handle is made out of rubber, the rubber might wear off due to light, heat and the ozone. Rubber wouldn’t last for a long time. Last but not least, this design is very complicated to use. The customers might get confused because there’s so many different parts with functions. 

Overall, this has been a very fun project to do!! I have learnt a lot and will definitely do something similar in the future.

Elevator Pitch Link: https://flipgrid.com/4053a6cc