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The process

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Concept development - Moodboard 3 Sketches 4

Form development - Small bowl 13 Spoon 14 Large bowl 16 Chopsticks 17 Snack container 18 Tray 19

Material development - 20

Branding - Name 21 Logo 22

User trialling - 24

Final prototype - Ceramics 25 Woodwork 28 Silicone 29 CNC 30 Laser etching 31

Completed prototype - 32

Table of Contents

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Concept development

Moodboard-A collection of images to set the tone I want to convey in my project.

4

Concept development

Sketches-Small bowl

5

Concept development

Sketches-Spoon

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7

Concept development

Sketches-Large bowl

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Concept development

Sketches-Chopsticks

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Concept development

Sketches-Communal piece

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Concept development

Sketches-Tray/Box

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Concept development

Sketches-Tray

12

Concept development

Sketches-The set

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Form development

-Small bowl

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Form development

-Spoon

As one of the more complex forms in the set, the form development was extensive. Models were quickly and easily mocked up in foam to express my ideas.

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Various timbers were experimented with to determine the best choice. This was based on ease of carving, grain tightness and appearance.

The spoon was posed the greatest challenge. I struggled with the form and the concept. However it eventuated from a straw spoon to a spoon that will leak if too much is filled.

Form development

-Spoon

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Form development

-Large bowl

The form did not require much more development. The alterations were reserved to only ensuring the size would fit nicely in the hand.

17

Form development

-Chopsticks

The development in the chopsticks was mainly understanding the best way to make the final prototype. Many bits of wood were deemed cast offs due to milling mistakes and splintering wood.

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Form development

-Snack container

This evolved from being a stationary bowl to a portable, communal element. The set required a piece of less restriction in movement.

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Form development

-Tray

Working out the most appropriate configuration for the tray. This tray began as a box to house the pieces. However to play up the eating experience it seemed more appropriate to provide a frame as if it were presenting the pieces.

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Material development

Materials that were of interest included timber, porcelain, silicone and bamboo. During the early stages of development, cushioning the sounds of eating was an important factor to work upon. This sparked the idea of combining bamboo and porcelain together. The porcelain bowls would be lined with bamboo that would minimise the noise of tableware clashing during dining. The chopsticks would reference this dual material feature. After further research into these two materials, it was deemed too difficult to achieve. However, to maintain this cushioning idea, it was decided to create the cutlery from timber and the bowls from porcelain. There is still that mix of material and delivers on the sound minimisation.

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Branding

Name-惜 / Sek / Xi

Mum’s written explanation of 惜 with Mandarin pinyin.

This set of tableware expresses my Chinese heritage and it only seemed right to emphasise that through the name.

惜, this character alone carries no meaning. However it carries the potential to mean two opposing phrases.

Character 惜

Cantonese pinyin Sek

Mandarin pinyin Xi

To add 可 will form a word that means something valuable and treasured.

To add 珍 will form a word that means something that is wasted and is pitiful.

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Logo-惜 / Sek / Xi

Xi

Xi

Early logo ideas

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Logo-惜 / Sek / Xi

Various logo explorations were etched into practice thrown bowls to decide on the most effective one.

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User Trialling

The bowls were 3D printed to better visualise the size. Early prototypes of the spoon and chopsticks were trialled with the 3D printed bowls. A mixture of frustration and fascination was expressed when using these models.

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Final prototype

Ceramics-Bowl A and B

Turning a base for Bowl B

In preparation for making the bowls for the final prototype, I started taking lessons in throwing clay.

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Ceramics-Bowl A and B

At this stage the clay was leather hard, allowing for the base to be turned and to carve out any details. In my case, I cut out the holes in Bowl B and pressed in the logo on the bases.

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Ceramics-Bowl A and B

Bisque fired bowls

Glazed bowls, ready for final glaze firing

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Wood carving-Spoon

Final prototype

The profiles of the spoon were cut out from the walnut. then it was carved down carefully into a spoon. Intense sanding occured.

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Silicone-Snack container

Final prototype

It was decided that the snack container will be of an apperance model. This was decided after realising the time needed to produce a near perfect working model was beyond my reach. The model has been 3D printed and painted to appear as a silicone product.

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Final prototype

CNC timber-Tray

The tray top was CNC machined. The base of the tray was attached after this process.

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Final prototype

Laser etching logo

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Final prototype

Timber finish-Kitchen timber oilBeeswax

I mixed beeswax and the kitchen timber oil together to create a finish. I tested this on a scrap piece of walnut and after a few days the finish dulled.

I then tested just applying the oil before finishing with beeswax and the outcome was a darker and more durable finish.

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Elizabeth Lau, 1142314884904 ID Major Project: Realisation

Process Journal

Tutor: Roderick Walden

Completed prototype