Cutlery that adopts for dexterity
transitions by Mickael Boulay
At the turn
of the millennium we saw a rational switch in design, rather than form,
function, color and style being the principles in design now the most
important thing is to take note of the harm done by producing the product. This
allowed designers to become restricted in the materials intended to use and the
process behind it, now are usually produced with a purpose of multi function and
revolutionary concepts. Ergonomics, function and emotion are the key elements
in design at the era.
Mickael
Boulay is a French designer that is a prime example of what the turn of the
millennium design is all about, Transitions:
transitions is a project were Boulay along with a certified Physiotherapist worked
on. Transitions is all about assisting
people with impaired motor skills, this project studied the ability to create a
set of cutlery that empowers the finger tips through the muscular pressure that
the cutlery assist you. Transition is not a project that resolves the
difficulty of impaired motor skills but it certainly helps it with the design
of an organic shape that serves as a grip transforming to sharp end for
handling the food easier.
‘Being handicapped isn’t synonymous with
remaining handicapped, and progress is always possible. Additionally, at every
step of the process, my cutlery aims to make people confident and comfortable
with improving their current condition’
Quoted from Mickael Boulay
Each tool is carefully designed to correspond with the muscle tension
intended to provide for the fingertips for better dexterity, in this set Bouley
got inspired from natural form such as the elephant truck which is implied in
the fork, this organic form with the negative space in between helps reach the
aim of more grip.
Process: The designer started by testing
usual cutlery on his clients, he immediately saw that it was not function able.
Along with his colleague he started some clay soft structures and wire forms as
a starting point. After he was happy with his initial idea he tested it out
again, there was still room for improvement especially in terms of ergonomics
(Structure of each individual set) at later stages after finalizing the design
he finished his design by using stainless steel finish.
This project
was created to help ease every day challenges easier, this project was not
possible without the Physiotherapist keeping in mind that this project is aimed
for health and care purposes. Ergonomics are very important at this age in
time, design is all about being able to understand other people’s respective
difficulties and imply a design that helps you’re clientele through their
difficulties. Human interaction with design is found constantly everywhere you
look, although we might be lacking neutral materials in design we are certainly
helping in the aspect of human interaction on a daily basis with designs in
general.
References:
designboom | architecture & design magazine. 2017. cutlery
that aids dexterity transitions by mickael boulay. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.designboom.com/design/cutlery-that-aids-dexterity-transition-by-mickael-boulay/.
[Accessed 03 May 2017].
No comments:
Post a Comment