NELUMBO
Ergonomic Cutlery Design
Nelumbo is a new tableware designed to avoid contact to the surface of the table, focusing on an ergonomic form for its physical comfort and aesthetics. I used Korean traditional manufacturing process; cast-iron ware. The calyx – the middle part of the Nelumbo – supports the tableware to avoid contact to the surface of the table, keep a table clean and save paper napkin.
Category
Professional / Individual
Type
Product Design
Scale
18cm x 18cm x 45cm
WORKING PERIOD
Mar.2016 – Oct.2016
what I did
Idea sketch, Mock-up
The average American diner uses 2.5 napkins per meal, that is over 800 billion paper napkins annually.
how might we save the environment?
The initial idea : How about adding a stand into a spoon?
(Sketch: Manifesto Design Studio, 2012)
With the initial idea of Manifesto Design Studio, this project was started as the second cutlery design project. Since the company created the first version, I focused on more ergonomic design than the previous one.
HURDLES
:Is mass production possible?
From a prototyping model, I have experienced a hurdle in actualizing the desired design into reality: mass production. The issue of lowering the manufacturing cost was important in the mass production, which challenged to actualize an ergonomic design form. It led the design to keep changing as it ran into the limitations of the complex manufacturing processes.
In manufacturing for large production, I learned about the importance of understanding materials. Without the knowledge of materials, the original design could be changed. I tried using plastic materials as a point color on the handle, but the lighter weight of plastic could not be used as a whole handle. The weight of the minimized handle and the larger head should be balanced.
