Vanessa Palacio

C U R I O S O

Vanessa Palacio Gyungju Chyon Capstone / Design Studio 6 Parsons School of Design 3

Table of Contents Introduction

Phase 1

Phase 2

4

Taco Holder

6 7 8

10 12 13

15 18

20 21 22 23 24 25

Spaghetti Plate

Technical Drawing Mold Making Casting Process Troubleshooting User Testing

30 31 32 33 34

Final Photos

35

Ice Cream Bowl

Technical Drawing Mold Making Casting Silicone Troubleshooting User Testing Final Photos

40 41 42 43 44 45

Life Cycle Analysis

Triple Bottom Line Credits

50 51 52

5

Core Interest

Initially my interest started last semester when I noticed how people hold mugs so uniquely. It could be the same standard mug but still some people embrace the cup, others stick to the handle, some hold the handle while the pinky is following the curve of the handle beneath.

For this project I began to observe how uniquely we eat the same foods, I noticed that with every food comes its own set of awkward nuances and even more uniquely so, its affordances.

With this, I set myself a frame of questions and began prototyping in hopes of answering some of these questions.

How might the design of your tableware change your affordance to it?

6

Market Research

I looked to Aldo Bakker’s tableware collection (on right) for inspiration, which is also largely influenced by affordances.

However I also came across this student project, Mahlzeit by Joh Choe, inspired by the different cooking cultures of Korea and Germany.

7

End User

I imagine that my user might be a modern museum goer.

Someone who would purchase such a gift for a friend in a musem store and collects one off objects.

8

Phase 1

Initial Sketches

In some of these sketches I began to think of how I could change the perception of someone’s dining experience. For example, I eat the same 5-7 dishes on a weekly rotation when I’m home, I’ve eaten these same dishes since I could remember. How might the design of the tableware give someone a new lens from which to look at the same food? I began exploring the idea of hierarchy, by elevating the plate itself off the table surface. Additionally, I considered what we define “precious” to be, and how I might bring that emotion into the design of the tableware.

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Initial Prototypes

With these prototypes I began exploring just how far I could take the landscape design of the plate before I reached absolute unusability.

12

Prototype Testing

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Phase 2

Observational Studies

I noticed that with eating tacos comes some sort of embarassment. This stems from the fact that while you eat and take a bite from your taco some food will fall out or drip all over your hand.

Making you look like a mess but somehow in that moment we forget that this has happened to us all at some point in our taco eating experiences.

It is these awkward nuances that led me to focus on designing around this experience.

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Observational Studies

I noticed that when eating ice cream from a bowl there are two things people did that stood out to me.

The people who eat very slowly which leads to melted ice cream that they then scrape up every last drop (image to the left). On the latter, as the ice cream melted away, people would mix it together so that the entire ice cream was a thick cream texture.

It was the nature of the ice cream melting so quickly that drove me to explore how I might embrace this affordance of scraping up every last drop.

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Observational Studies

When I went out to restaurants to watch people eat spaghetti I noticed there were two major habits. Some people use their fork to help cut the spaghetti into smaller noodles. In doing this it made the twirling and gathering of the spaghetti a bit more clumsy.

I also noticed that there is a habit of people using spoons to help with the act of twirling the spaghetti onto the fork.

With this I set out to experiment how I might design something to embrace this awkard part of eating spaghetti. How might I design something to embrace and highlight this affordance of twirling spaghetti?

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Curioso is a tableware collection that is inspired by the unique affordances that occur while dining.

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Taco Holder

Technical Drawing

20

Mold Making

Originally I had made a plaster mold thinking it would be easier to control the seam lines for the final silicone outcome. However when I opened the mold I realized my silicone had gotten all the texture of the plaster.

21

Casting Silicone

Originally I had made a plaster mold thinking it would be easier to control the seam lines for the final silicone outcome. However when I opened the mold I realized my silicone had gotten all the texture of the plaster.

22

Troubleshooting

After my plaster mold broke and the outcome was very rough, I remade my positive and vacuum formed it. This ended up giving me the cleanest surface however, the silicone was still so thick and I was forced to push it into the mold with the popsicle stick. which did leave many air bubbles.

23

User Testing

24

25

26

27

28

Spaghetti Plate

Technical Drawing

30

Mold Making

I had my model 3D printed so that I could hopefully achieve accurate and precise results each time. Because my model was too large I had to print in two halves and attach them.

31

Casting Process

The mold for my spaghetti plate ended up being a very large press mold. This means that I was using very wet slabs of clay and pressing it as evenly and smoothly as possible into the bottom half of the mold. This proved itself to be problematic to achieve even and “perfect� results.

32

Troubleshooting

Due to its size, it required standing and jumping and as you can see, I even had help from a friend to help me press it. However, in doing so we found out my mold was slightly uneven on the surfaces. This meant that when such weight and pressure was applied it cracked, fortunately it was a clean break and was repairable. When I attempted to press one more plate it completely shattered (far right image). There was no going back from this point which then meant the next prototypes I would be making by hand.

33

User Testing

One of my initial prototypes for this plate had a lump on which the user could use to help lean the fork into to help with twirling the spaghetti.

However it wasn’t a large enough surface.

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Ice Cream Bowl

Technical Drawing

40

Mold Making

I had my model 3D printed so that I could hopefully achieve accurate and precise results each time. Because my model was too large I had to print in two halves and attach them.

For the funnel of this design I actually used an existent silicone funnel as my positive. I made sure that it could fit 8oz as that was the measurement of 2-3 scoops of ice cream. I accentuated a lip by using a hair tie to help create the connection of where it met with the base.

41

Casting Process

Unlike the taco holder and spaghetti plate in this collection, this design was entirely slipcasted.

42

Troubleshooting

My initial prototype (on left) had a lip which I had originally intended to keep for ease of drinking and comfort. However, because I also needed the cup to sit securely in the edge and after hearing users complain they were insecure of itI trimmed it off. I had a much better fit with little wobble and my users felt no difference ergonomically.

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User Testing

44

45

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Life Cycle Analysis

50

Triple Bottom Line Triple Bottom Line

ECONOMIC

SOCIAL

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

This collection will be manufactured in the USA in small batches. Sold in boutiques.

This product collection of dinnerware will inspire and question affordances seen while eating specific foods.

SUSTAINABILITY

SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL

MORAL ECONOMY

ENVIRONMENTAL

Using ceramic as a primary material for this collection will make it very durable for years to come and could possibly be passed on from generation to generation.

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Credits

Gyungju Chyon Instructor Gregory Beson Teaching assistant Mami & Papi Financial support / User Junho Byun CAD Modeler Maryam Alkhalifa User/ model Jenamarie Boots User/ model Nicole Catania User/ model Kavya Khanna User/ model Megan Sweeney User/ model Myesha Gardner Model Rachel Cassandra Gibbons Photographer Hannah Mishin Prototyping consultant Dave Marin Prototyping consultant Adriel Tong Prototyping consultant Bomi Prototyping consultant

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