Building on Ideas
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- Similar to products attached to bathroom doors so a user does not have to touch the handle after washing their hands, the underneath oven drawer would have a foot plate. This way a user could pull the draw out and put kitchenware away in the drawer in one shift and efficient motion.
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- This product would be similar to a prosthetic arm but would have kitchen utensils attached to the end. The user would have one attachable sleeve but could buy many different interchangeable tools that would fit into the base, such as a spatula, a whisk, a pizza cutter, etc.
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- This product, or line of products, would have a magnetic plate at its base that sticks to another magnetic plate that would be attached to your counter. The original idea was a mixing bowl, however, there is the possibility of expanding passed that and making additional products such as a cutting board or a dinner plate.
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- This product would be like a spatula and pan in one. The pan’s handle is able to unlock out of its position and move around the pan. There is a weight on the side of the pan and also on the bottom of the pan to help stabilize it as the spatula moves.
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- This idea was originally created in the beginning of the ideation process but we modified it, as recommended by our peers, by adding a flap the covers the button to strain the bottom to prevent accidental straining or spills.
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- The ring of this product is made out of a flexible material that can be shifted to fit different sized jars. A customer would simply adjust to the size needed, place it on the top of the jar, and turn it using the handle on the side.
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- The bowl has a suction cup on the container to keep it in place. There is a lever on the side of the bowl that spins a wheel inside the bowl to help mix together the ingredients inside.
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- This product resembles a large paper cutter. When the blade is lifted, it causes the belt on the surface of the cutting board to shift. With this product, a user can make incremental chops without having to move the food they are cutting.
Detailed Drawings of Ideas Picked for Prototyping
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- Drawn by Mia Williams
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- Drawn by Brenden Kelley
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- Drawn by Lydia Wachsmuth
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- Drawn by Kian Sadrian
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- Drawn by Muru Singaram
Progress Update Reflection:
By the concept ideation stage, our group had new product ideas come to us easier than ever before. In the previous concept generation stage, our group brainstormed independently. We found that this was a much more difficult task to do alone and it took much more time. Having the time in class to bounce ideas off of each other was extremely beneficial. During this dedicated time, we noticed the importance of collaboration. We could take one person’s idea and get feedback from the team.
We realized that seeing a product from different perspectives is a crucial step in the design process. It raised the important questions that were not taken into consideration before when working independently. Because of this, we were able to improve upon our previous ideas. More surprising during this exercise was the amount of ideas that we scrapped. Just as important as it is to continuously improve on the good designs is to recognize the bad designs. This is probably the hardest and most awkward part about working with a group. No one wants to make other people feel bad by shooting down their ideas, but it is necessary with new product development. Earlier in our design process, this was holding us back, but over time we were able to build trust and ended up letting go of about 2/3 of our initial ideas. No one was hurt and it resulted in new products that we all seemed to like more.
At this point in time, we are happy with the concepts we have and are excited to prototype them. Just as team collaboration raised questions and improved some ideas, while terminating others, we anticipate prototyping to have the same effect. Our only concern is that our ideas won’t actually be functional when prototyped and tested. It’s not a huge worry knowing that we have five products to test, allowing for ample fallbacks if one or multiple don’t work out.