Final Design Principals II Project: RISD Industrial Design Despartment

1. Water Conscious Produce
Prep Station
Carmen Schweizer
Tracy Zaslow & Ayako Takase
Spring Design Principals II
19 May 2015

2. User Group focus: Home Chef
The home chef is passionate to be in the
kitchen environment.
Unlike commercial chefs, home chefs
approach cooking from a more private
level, and may require different kitchen
product needs.
This group is also unique in its universality;
home chefs can be professionals cooking
at home, families, children, college
students… just about anyone that is
passionate for preparing food!

3. Design Focus: Water Conservation in the Home
Kitchen
Water conservation is
surprisingly easily
achievable in the kitchen.
Many forget of the waste
accumulation that small but
frequent tasks cost.
Because the kitchen
environment is such a
mainstay in the home, there
is a great amount to be
improved on in terms of
designing for water
conservation.
Some initial tips!
1. Wash fruits and veggies
in a basin rather than
under the tap
2. soak dirty/baked on
dishes in a basin before
scraping and rinsing
3. Reuse boiling water for
soup stocks
4. Use greywater from
washing veggies,
leftover ice cubes and
cooled boiling water to
water houseplants

4. Inspiration From the Current Market

5. Field Work: Research & Observation
JWU Culinary Students
- A series of online and in-person surveys were conducted
within the user group, including:
a. Johnson & Wales University Culinary Students and Faculty
b. Personal RISD (and non- RISD) Friends & Family interested in
cooking/baking
c. Typeform online surveys sent to chef/foodie forum sites

6. Fieldwork Results: Understanding Design Needs
Do you pre-wash your fruits
& Veggies before use?
Is water conservation
important to you?
Do you think of how much
water you are using while
cooking?
How often do you
reuse water in the
kitchen?

7. Honing the Problem Statement
The term ‘Home Chef’ fall under a broad scope of people of all age ranges, genders
and place of origin that hold a common thread; the love for cooking/baking in their
domestic environment. Designing for this group with focuses of water conservation efforts
and product sustainability requires a balance of familiar tradition and innovative benefits.
Investigating this user group through observation, a series of online and personal surveys
and interviews, as well as looking at the current products on the market, provided a
platform understanding the needs of the home chef, and the areas I should focus on.
Design opportunities in produce preparation became a primary area of conservation
concern. By focusing on this area, providing a balance of traditional familiarity and water
conserving and sustainability innovation would be the primary route for redesign for the
home chef.

8. Preliminary Sketching & Modelmaking
- Focus: conservation of water runoff whilst preparing produce ingredients after
liberal washing.
- Produce preparation: one of the greatest areas of concern for water waste
from data gathered.

9. Quickly found issues with:
- scale
- shape of board
- material
- placement of
reservoir
- type of reservoir
- hierarchy of
components

11. User Feedback & Critique- From Skype feedback from Grandmother:
- “I like the traditional board shape”
- “I think I would get food trapped in the little holes, I would hate to clean that
every time.”
- “How am I supposed to get the water below out? Lift? Slide it out?”
Will It Slide out? OR Will It Lift up?
Reservoir Angle
unnecessarily steep
Gap between tray is awkward
and side fit is loose and wobbly

12. Feedback Adjustments For a Finalized Design

13. Final Prep Station Model

14. The Process
1. Produce is washed and prepared,
producing liquid runoff that has
conserving potential
2. With the scraper, water is pushed
through the board slot and falls into
the reservoir strainer.
3. Reserved water falls through the
perforations and into the reservoir
containing basin
4. To empty the basin, the unit is lifted
up and using the corner spout, the
water can now be poured into:
- houseplants (indoor or outdoor)
- any grey water container for
later use

15. Oak Cutting Board-
Reflective of most popular and traditional materials which home chefs prefer
Slot is dual functional:
1. A handle in which to remove from reservoir base and to carry
2. the main channel which the excess produce water is scraped and flows into

16. Wooden
track for
stable grip
onto
reservoir
base
Slot is a
functioning
handle for easy
on and off of the
board onto the
stainless steel
base

17. Grey water is
directed with the
scraper through
the slot and into
the straining
basin below

18. Stainless Steel Grey Water Strainer
and Collection Basin-
Fully dismantlable, the steel grey water basin, highlights the function of this product- to conserve product runoff
water and to be designed to be broken down sustainably after years of use
Simple bended design is strong throughout the product's
lifetime- enables a sturdy steel base for preparing on
and later allows for easy dismantling

19. Low angle of the strainer harnesses gravity to
direct runoff water towards the center and
through the perforations
The reservoir basin functions as the container
of the collected produce grey water.
It features a quiet corner spout which directs
the water neatly when poured into any other
grey water container

20. Oak & Stainless Steel Board Scraper
This attachment
allows effective (and
knife saving)
scraping of the
board from runoff
water.
The scraper is simple and
geometric, reflecting both oak and
stainless steel materials seen in the
cutting board and reservoir base. It
ties elements of the two together to
create more dialogue between the
two materials

21. The Prep Station- Assembled

22. Quiet design and
appearance with
environmentally conscious
intent and function
Cutting board slot position can be
changed left to right to accompany
different user hand dominance
The Prep Station- Assembled

23. Final Prep Station Renderings

24. Fully separating elements
provide ease of
transportation, storage in
the home, and recyclability
after years of durable use.

25. Tradition and Innovation for Produce Preparation