Sunday, September 7, 2008






The product I designed was extra large barbecue tongs with a beer opener at the end of the handle which could double as a hook to hang the tongs. The Product was designed with user comfort and ergonomics in mind. The handle has a slight curve for the hand to rest comfortably, and a grip for the thumb to rest on. There were no obvious groves so that the tongs would be used for males of all hand size.

The target market I had in mind when I designed these tongs, were: males in their early 30’s with a steady income from a mediocre job with a recent family. I envisioned the target market to be quite bored during the weekends, so that the weekend bbq with friends would be one thing that they would really look forward to. The product for them would be a form of control, a manly element. With this in mind, I made the product very structured and did not add in too many free flowing lines. I took the inspiration for the handle from a car. As this was something I envisioned the target market to be interested in still as they were still young although they had a family. The lining and detailing shows give the feeling of precision and speed that enforces the car image.

The pleasure analysis would be as follows:

Physio:

- good serving utensil
- multi functional as it doubles as a beer opener
- Ergonomic
- Robust
- Interesting design

Socio:

- Serving tool for others
- Good talking point

Psycho

- Fun to use
- Sense of Familiarity
- Feeling of control

Ideo

- Environmentally responsible
- Safe to use
- Hygenic

5 comments:

Tyler K said...

It's a good minimalist design - not overally functional and it serves its purpose well. can set itself apart from 'standard' tongs.

some sharper, more agressive lines would have worked well for the target market

Overall: very good design

Somewhatdamaged said...

In terms of being a minimalist design and as a means of giving the user control it works very well.
I do think this design would benefit from having a more streamlined look and feel to it. It could still retain i's overall shape, but be something a bit more sleek; which may also add to the motoring image you are bringing across.

Ben Kagan said...

Nice minimal design. Appears comfortable and ergonomic.

Beer opener is a good idea, especially as it conviniently doubles as a hanger. Might possibly feel awkward opening a beer with such a large utensil.

Pushing the car idea a little more would have worked well.

Andrew Cook said...

first of all i like your photos they give a good indication of the application and use of the product. i like the classy colours. i like the fact that u havent tried to fit it out with all kinds of different applications as that can take away from the design. maybe a more ergonomic design for the handle. it seems a bit bulky. great model too.

Gabriel Ly said...

Overall design looks great and the model turn out great also.

Keeping it simple and giving the user good control over the utensil works well.

Also your photos show the product in its field quite well esp when using the bottle opener