Final Design
1/5/2020
Form Developing
Final model-Trial 3
This is the final look of the cup. I stretches it a bit so that it has the proportion of a cup.
23/4/2020
After talking with tutors and friends, I found they all like the idea of a cup that is put on the back of a hand. I decided to refine this idea using CAD.
13/4/2020
12/4/2020
Experimentations on the preparing vessel. The form is inspired by the gesture of an Aztec woman preparing the cacao drink. The handles on the sides indicate pouring with two hands. The mouth is at an angle right to the centre so that the person pouring will hold the vessel at one side of his/her body, looking at the flow of the cacao.
11/4/2020
I prefer the cup to put on the back of the hand because it is more ceremonial. The cup has to be handled more carefully compare to holding it in one's hands. Uses have to find the balance. I made an improvement on my first model.
I extended one side of the cup so that users can hold it using the other hand, handling the cup with both hands.
9/4/2020
There is a cacao ceremony that many people are taking part in. It is a routine ritual that helps people connect to their heart, to each other and to earth. Similar to meditation, but with cacao. Engage chocolate as a sacred plant rather than a candy. The chocolate used in the ceremony is 100% pure cacao. It contains both cacao butter and powder, unlike conventional chocolate which leaves out cacao butter. Inspired by this, I decided to design tableware for experiencing the cacao ceremony.
24/3/2020
When I was watching Chef's Table, I realized that I could design tableware for a particular kind of dish. In the episode about Will Goldfarb, he talked about using fresh chocolate to make hot chocolate mousse. Inspired by this, I had an idea of design tableware that is used to hold hot chocolate or chocolate in liquid form, because it is closest to the way people in the past consume chocolate. In ancient time, chocolate was a kind of noble drink. It has a greater sense of ceremony compare to chocolate bar. There is a stronger smell and consumers can feel its warmth.
In the Ancient Art of Chocolate-Making, roasted cocoa beans are ground into thick paste. Then, tablets of chocolate are combined with water to make the traditional Guatemalan hot chocolate. This process could become a ceremony in the modern world. Put a tablet of chocolate into a cup, add hot water, and froth the chocolate with a beater.
18/3/2020
My project is about the origin of food, so I looked at how cacao farmers work and the tools they use. The way the farmers open up a cacao is interesting. They use a wooden stick to knock the middle part of the cacao, and the cacao will crack into two parts.
4/3/2020
I decided to continue with the idea of chocolate. Chocolate has an amazingly rich history date back to maya civilization. Furthermore, there are many current issues related to chocolate industries.
Eating Rituals - 26/2/2020
Research Analysis
My project fits in between sustainable and expensive. I will most likely use clay and it can be recycled. The concept of my project is related to the origin of food and biodiversity. The final outcome tends to be craft-based.
Eating Rituals - 22/2/2020
Inspired by the slow food movement, I had the idea of ritualizing fast food. The goal of fast food is to speed up. I could design a ritual to slow down the process of eating fast food. However, I do not like the idea, because it is forcing people to do things.
An experiment I could do to get inspired:
Collect foods in different forms.
Place them in tablewares.
Observe how people interact with them.
Theme - 12/2/2020
Theme - 12/2/2020
The first theme I came up with was Junk.
Many products are produced in factories and rapidly ended up in the landfill. Waste is stacked up like mountains. It pollutes the environment and is harmful to people living in the poor. As designers, we are part of this “complex system of things”. Designers are responsible for the consequences and should be the solution to them. The increasing consumption of electronic creates an explosion of e-waste containing toxic chemicals. Tons of electronic scraps are exported illegally from industrialised countries like the EU, US and Japan to developing countries like India, Africa and China. Migrant children in China are recruited to do the dirty job of e-cycling. Toxic chemicals and heavy metals will stay in their body and damage their health. Other than e-waste, kitchen waste is also a major source of waste. The decomposition of food scraps, vegetable peels and tea bags will emit methane gas into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.
I will research different types of waste and the corresponding procedures to recycle them. Then I will use the knowledge to develop designs that are easier to recycle. Research and test sustainable materials.
The second theme is Working and Living.
The project aims to explore the future of work. It is hard to separate work from life. There are people working from 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week in IT industries. Some work while having lunch; some cannot stop thinking about work during sleep. How to take a break from the intense working mode and find a balance between working and living?
Domestic workers such as housewives and caregivers are doing unpaid jobs, and most of them are women. How can designers change this situation?
Working at home is becoming popular. It saves time that used on daily commute, but new problems will arise.
I will look into different places of working: at home, in the office or outdoors.
Observe people’s behavior in working environment. For example, what people do to relax?
What about time after work? Is work involved when people are taking underground or walking?
What does working mean to you? A way of survival, a duty or an identity.
1/5/2020
Form developing
Trial 3
Inspired by a vessel that looks like it is melting. I softened the outline.
28/4/2020
Form Developing
Trial 2
The outline is much simpler, but I am still not satisfied with the form. It looks too much like a bowl. I can simplify the bottom more.
27/4/2020
Form Developing
Trial 1
I watched a Rhino tutorial online about creating a mug. The basic thinking is the same. First, draw the cross section, then use symmetry and revolve to form a shape. This is my first trial, which is based on my clay model. It is too complicated. The twists and turns make the cup difficult to clean.
13/4/2020
How to use
12/4/2020
This vessel is used to hold solid cacao. The hole at the centre is used to allow the solid cacao to fall into the preparing vessel. Users have to draw circles in the air to let the cacao fall, creating a sense of ritual (there is a video demonstration below).
(the discs are mimical solid cacao)
11/4/2020
The curve and the symmetrical shape gives the cup a sense of ritual.
10/4/2020
By observing how prayers holding their cups, I found that most cups are too thin to fully experience the warmth of cacao. Therefore, I experimented with some forms that increase the surface area of cups.
I really like the form of the vessel. It fits with the shape when the palm of two hands put together. Although it is a little flat to hold cacao.
25/3/2020
The colour of chocolate is another aspect I could explore. Inspired by Hella Jongerius, who is experimenting with colours on porcelain. Colours can create an atmosphere. Chocolate with different percentage of cocoa has various hue of brown. Furthermore, the colour of cocoa pods is very different from the end product.
19/3/2020
I will use foam board to make models. The interaction with the hand is inspirational. It reminds me of how people hold chocolate pot in ancient time.
I will use chocolate in my design. I might use the rectangular shape of chocolate bar. I want to apply the concept of heat and chocolate, and the process of melting chocolate in my design.
I will use air drying clay for details.
5/3/2020
Scamper
ceramic and chocolate
Eating Rituals - 27/2/2020
Material Wall
The three words I selected are natural, visible and emotional.
These words helped me to reflect on my ideas. It was too soon to narrow my research down to rice, but eating ritual is still too broad for me. Inspired by the content of a book where it divides food into several categories. I decided to focus on the natural aspect of food. I want to reveal the journey of food from the field to table.
These are the thoughts when I summarized the three key words.
The idea behind this piece is about the origin of meat. I put leather around a scrap of ceramic to create a tableware. Leather is part of animals which builds a relationship with the possible content inside the tableware.
Visible means to show the invisible food production process to the public. The outline is clear, so that viewers will have a rough idea of what is inside. The aim of my design is to raise the awareness.
Eating Rituals - 25/2/2020
I realized that my research was too broad, so I narrowed it down to the rice.
When I was summarizing the answers from my questionnaire, I found most people include rice in their list of food. I realized that rice is grown in many areas on earth, but the appearance of rice and the way it is served varies among regions. It also reminded me of a design which was about the loss of diversities in corns. The same problem is occurring on rice too. I want to show the problem of biodiversity in rice on the dining table.
I will look at where does rice come from. I could try to tell a story about its journey from field to table through tableware.
I need to collect big data about biodiversity issues.
Eating Rituals - 14/2/2020
Eating Rituals - 14/2/2020
Eating rituals are related to our culture and society. Food not only provides us with nutrition and keeps us healthy, but it also has memories and stories. In this fast-paced society, food becomes insignificant. People eat takeaway because it is convenient. Eating itself is too boring so we play with phone or watching TV shows. Food is no longer the focus. In this project, I want to explore the social and cultural aspects of eating. To find a way to return to the formality of the dining table. Through observing people’s behaviour on the dining table, I will design a series of tableware to add a sense of ritual to today’s eating culture. Ceramic will be the main material, and I will add other materials like wood or metal.
Theme - 13/2/2020
Theme - 13/2/2020
After the workshop, I realized my theme was a bit far from my everyday life, and it is difficult to do the research. I was not very excited about them, so I decided to change the theme. I chose Eating Ritual as my theme in the end.
A friend a mine introduced me to an eating designer - Marije Vogelzang
2/5/2020
Evaluation Mind Map
12/4/2020
This vessel is used to prepare the cacao drink. It is a smaller version of the actual size. Users put the solid cacao inside and add boiled water. Stir until the solid cacao dissolve. Then users pour the cacao drink into the smaller cup.
I made two twists on the mouth. When users are pouring the cacao, they have to pay attention to the trace of the cacao, thus slowing down the process.
10/4/2020
More experimentations on the form. I was trying to make it taller so that it can contain more cacao.
25/3/2020
I researched the shape of wine glass and why it is designed in this way. The stem allows users to avoid touching the bowl, as the temperature of the hands will affect the taste of wine. The shape of the bowl is designed for swirling. The smell releases aroma of the wine. These designs are all based on the features of wine.
I looked at the cup that is used to fill hot chocolate. A cup with a handle to protect the hands from the heat.
A cup that is used to fully experience the taste of chocolate. Studies have shown that the back of the hand is the most sensitive to heat. I had an idea of a cup that has a curve base which can fit with the back of the hand, so that users can really feel the warmth. I made a sketch model using clay. The surface is rough and it does not look very industrialized, but it gave me an idea of the basic form. The bottom would be an oval instead of a circle to allow the cup to rest on the dorsum. I will make another model using paper.
https://www.jprasurg.com/article/S1748-6815(14)00347-7/fulltext
2/3/2020
Miniature
I refined my research to three main ideas. The first one is about the invisible parts of vegetables. In supermarket, consumers only see part of vegetable plants. For example, people usually eat the roots of carrots, but where are the leaves, flowers etc.? Onions have beautiful flowers, but people only remember the taste of onion. I could design tableware that reveal the invisible beauty of plants that people eat.
Another idea is about encouraging people to pick up vegetables in the social gardens and eat locally grown vegetables. Imported food have experienced a long and complicated journey from its original country to good shelves in shops. This requires a lot of energy.
I found that there are many social farms and gardens in the city, which provide an opportunity for residents to eat vegetables that are grown locally.
Events organized by one of the social gardens
R-urban
The third idea came from Food Art Pairings by David Schwen. When I searched chocolate online, I found that chocolate might disappear in 2050 because of climate change. Most people don't realize the urgency of climate change because it is too far from their life. If this issue is associated with something that we eat everyday and cannot live without, like chocolate, then people will really start to care about it.
As for the miniature, I made a pair of chopsticks than can expand and tell a story. I don't like the model because it is too simple and not original. The idea also needs to develop more.
Eating Rituals - 24/2/2020
Speed Dating for research
I found the way of asking questions in questionnaire very useful. It is important to ask questions that are related to products and objects.
I came up with some questions to ask students from different countries to see if I could find something inspirational. Here are the questions:
- List three kinds of food that come to your mind.
- Do you have any personal/cultural association with the food you listed?
- Name a tableware that you enjoy using the most. Why?