Bronze Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design · 2020
GravitATE Tableware
by Yueyue Zhang
- A' Design Award 2020 Bronze Winner in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Yueyue Zhang
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 16,961
- Verification code 2808684B7F · Verify this award
About GravitATE Tableware
A tableware set that invites and encourages users to share interactions and eat slowly. GravitATE contains three personal dinnerware items and three service bowls. It has the potential for movement and interpersonal interaction. The form invites and encourages users to share these interactions intuitively. The result is that users take their time, sharing conversation and savoring food slower than with traditional tableware. This provides a positive dining experience for all.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- A tableware set that invites and encourages users to share interactions and eat slowly. GravitATE contains three personal dinnerware items and three service bowls. It has the potential for movement and interpersonal interaction. The form invites and encourages users to share these interactions intuitively. The result is that users take their time, sharing conversation and savoring food slower than with traditional tableware. This provides a positive dining experience for all.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Service bowl No.1 (polyhedron): Width 185mm x Depth 185mm x Height 120mm
Service bowl No.2 (Main image): Width 245mm x Depth 165mm x Height 70mm
Service bowl No.3 (Image #1): Width 175mm x Depth 175mm x Height 120mm
Personal tableware (Bottom): Width 175mm x Depth 175mm x Height 50mm
Personal tableware (Middle): Width 160mm x Depth 160mm x Height 55mm
Personal tableware (Top): Width 115mm x Depth 115mm x Height 58mm - Tags
- Tableware, Dining experience, Interaction, Slow eating, Sharing
- Production Technology
- 3D-scanning and 3D-printing are two key digital tools to support my design. It is a circular design process:
1. Pick a direction(idea 1.0)
2. Build a quick mock-up using clay or foam
3. Scan the model
4. Digital modeling based on the scan result
5. 3D-printing prototype
6. User testing
7. Rebuild a new idea 2.0 or improve an existing idea1.1 - Design Challenge
- Through the user testing of the previous concepts, I found that the concepts with the potential for movement are more inviting. However, how to combine the design of tableware is a big challenge: Does the product help users to eat slowly? Does it invite the user to interact with it? Does it contain food well? Does It create an interesting experience? Does it suit for dining environment?
- Project Duration
- The project started in August 2018 and finished in April 2019 in Rochester, NY.
- Operation Flow
- According to the different forms of GravitATE, each service bowl produces different ways of movement, so that people can share food in different ways. For example, (Main image) although a person can take food from it independently, the shaking movement can remind other people to provide support. Two of the personal bowls can produce a small amount of sway, and they have been verified by user testing to allow the user to be more focused while eating and to a certain extent avoiding fast eating.
- Research
- This design originated from a recent dining phenomenon, which people are ignoring their dining experience but more focused on their phones, and finish the meal faster and faster. Firstly, literature research, observation, and interviews with the target users were conducted. I found that more interactions and slow eating can improve dining experiences. Then, the market research of restaurants helped me to sum up the factors that influence user behavior and experiences.
- Inspiration
- Eating with others and eating slowly can create a positive dining experience. Nowadays, people are getting busy with their work, which makes it harder for them to eat together and also, they are unwilling to spend much time eating.
Colors of GravitATE Tableware
Design Interview about GravitATE Tableware
The problem that this design addressed is how to make people involved in the mealtime more. Letting them slow down and be more focused, so as to improve their dining experience. In my design process, I don't want the final direction to be a restaurant-style experience that allows people to lose interest after the first experience. Therefore, in the process of creative development, I attach great importance to the feasibility of the concept and whether it can really inviting people more.
Does the product help users to eat slowly through more interactions is the main question that I considered during my design process. I hope my design can help people create a sweet mealtime scenario that people take their time, sharing conversation and food, interact with each other intuitively.
It should continue to improve this design. For now, this design is not enough for the home environment. Such as finding a better way to store them. Similarly, whether the final material used in this design is suitable for mass production, processing methods and costs are all I will continue to improve.
This is my thesis project, except the previous literature review. The whole design process took me 4 months.
This project addresses the recent changes in family eating behaviors. Positive dining experiences affect people’s physical and psychological health. However, based on the research, it shows that families shared less time and ate together less. Also, during family mealtime, almost half of people get distracted by technology and they eat mindlessly, which could cause health issues. So I started to take into consideration the essential reasons behind the behavior that happens during negative family mealtime by conducting field research with some families.
This is a design project from my graduate phase. I would love to sell or lease the production rights if any company is interested.
My Prof. Alex Lobos has given me a lot of help in my design process. In the creative stage, he gave me a lot of suggestions and tried a variety of brainstorming methods with me to get the inspiration. He has always encouraged me and supported my design.
Families who want to improve the dining experience; people who want to eat slowly and interact with others better.
Because the final products have the potential for movement, I thought about the word "gravitate". I capitalize the last three words "ate" to "ATE" became of the past tense of "eat".
3D-Printing and Fusion360 were the main tools that support my design process. Once I had an idea, I made a quick mock-up through clay, foam or foam cord etc. Then, I used fusion360 to model my idea and sent to 3d-printing. After the user testing of the 3d-printed model, I developed my ideas based on the feedback. My design process kind like a circle design process.
The most unique aspect of my design is the form of each tableware. They all have the potential for movement and interpersonal interaction. it invites and encourages users to share these interactions intuitively and ensure the usability as a tableware.
literature view, field research, observation and interview of my target user groups.
The biggest challenge was to find the final design direction. At the beginning of my design, I explored a lot of ideations related to the entire environment of the dining room, and I tried to keep my mind open to explore different ideas based on the directions which are "sharing interactions", "new experiences", "food culture" and "back to nature" etc. Also, I made mock-ups to test the relationship between the dining space layout and user behaviors, how different table shapes and tableware forms can affect users’ behaviors. Through my testing, I concluded that people were attracted by the mock-ups which have the potential to move because it led them to interact with each other more.
So I made some mock-ups based on very basic movements such as "seesaw", "swinging", "spinning", "sliding", and "rolling" and I invited people to try them. And then, I compared the five movements using feasibility and safety as my two key criteria. Also, I thought about ways to combine the different movements into the products. Finally, I decided to design tableware, because, compared to dining tables. Tableware is cheaper, easier, and it has more potential to encourage customers to purchase over time. Meanwhile, it is a very important bridge between people and food, people interact with it the most during mealtime.
So I made some mock-ups based on very basic movements such as "seesaw", "swinging", "spinning", "sliding", and "rolling" and I invited people to try them. And then, I compared the five movements using feasibility and safety as my two key criteria. Also, I thought about ways to combine the different movements into the products. Finally, I decided to design tableware, because, compared to dining tables. Tableware is cheaper, easier, and it has more potential to encourage customers to purchase over time. Meanwhile, it is a very important bridge between people and food, people interact with it the most during mealtime.
International design competitions are a good way to verify designs. Because you can get recommendations from a professional jury. Similarly, international competitions are also a platform for designers to showcase themselves. In this way, you can find like-minded friends, inspire each other, and get connections and job opportunities.