Monday, September 20, 2010

Rationale

This Lemon Squeezer is targeted for women between the ages of 48 - 50+ who love the arts, crafts and cooking, with sentimental values attached to objects or items with history that they are using, such as where the ball of yarn originated from and when and from whom or why they got it. Similarly to when they remember the first time that got a particular novelty gadget or cooking recipe. These women have a lot of time on their hands to research and look around for objects of value. The idea of authenticity is a main aspect of the material choices of the design of the lemon squeezer. The appearance of the design captures the pleasurable aspect of the design targeted to these women.


The idea of redesigning a lemon squeezer for this particular target market was motivated through the aspect of maturing women who at this stage of their life can now relax and simplify their lives doing things at a slower pace. Having a lemon squeezer which can be held in one hand and the lemon in another is useful for these women as it is a smaller item to hold and clean, it doesn’t have multiple parts to it and can be used to squeeze straight onto the intended food. Also there isn’t great effort put into squeezing a lemon with this device as the twisting motion of the lemon squeezer and the hand going in an opposite direction counter balances the force needed to squeeze a lemon, whereas it is squeezed by a stationary lemon squeezer and the lemon being turn with force. This reduces the force and stress on the hand that a woman has to apply when squeezing a lemon.

This lemon squeezer is intended to be used in the kitchen or on the dining table to season your food. At the same time it can be a talking point or a mantel piece decoration due to the wooden material it is made out of. It can be portrayed as an antique due to it being wooden with the idea of originality and authenticity to the design. It not only portrays that it is an item for use but it gives the sense of it being delicate and valuable. It adds to the idea of remembrance and experience to when and where the lemon squeezer was bought and the ease of usability. Wood was chosen due to the reason of plastic being more modern and cheaper, with the effect of obsolesces in it when over used. The wood is able to achieve the same sharp edge of the greater need to juice the lemon and allow the smooth motion of the squeezing, with it also resembling an item that is old, an antique piece of furniture adding the idea of authenticity.

The shape of the lemon squeezer was inspired by the elegance of an egg like shape form, with the idea that the slanted round edge on the side of the item will fit comfortably in the contour of one’s palm, while your fingers curl around the top of the lemon squeezer allowing comfort and ease. It can be rotated so the users zone of hand is satisfied , such as it can be griped on the side where there is no grove, or you can place your fingers along the rim, or otherwise. The shape indicates a main way and area of placing your hand to satisfy with pleasure the women’s hand while twisting the lemon squeezer. Through various testing of different shapes of the lemon squeezer, it was found that they didn’t suit the comfort or the appeal to the lemon squeezer due to the size required for comfort and grip, such as, if having a more geometric edged shape, it will increase the discomfort.
The size of the lemon squeezer is practical to use in an easy and efficient manner, as the teeth are within the standard width, length and depth of an original lemon squeezer which assists with the different shapes and sizes of lemons that can be squeezed adding a simple and elongated body. The teeth of the greater direct the juice in the depth of the groves and will not meet the hand at the top. If the juice reaches as far as that, there is a round groove at the joint between the top and the bottom of the lemon squeezer where the juice will accumulate and drop tangent to the squeezer.
By having a handle similar to the mould of your hand reduces the pain of pressure when squeezing a lemon. This form is used to project the easy movement that is needed to squeeze a lemon and therefore encourages the rolling motion and twisting direction that is needed to squeeze the lemon. Also it being slimming in appearance like the figure of women, not being blocky, projected with smooth, well rounded lines in a cylindrical form resembles a delicate women and her soft touch. Having this elegant form and choice of material has a simple and effective relationship with the target market.

The overall size and shape displays a practical factor to the design being a quick and efficient way to squeeze a lemon. It is practical, similar in size to a salt and pepper shaker, it doesn’t obstruct with anything on the table or in the kitchen, but adds to the decor with an authentic touch.

5 comments:

  1. Your design and ideas relative to your target audience seem very appropriate. You have really considered the phycological and ideological apects of your design which I enjoyed learning about. I think your re-designed lemon juicer is very inventive, and aesthetically pleasing. The only concern that I would have about this design is whether the lemon juice would run into the palm of the users hand, as they are juicing. I guess a slightly skewed handle could fix this if this were an issue.
    Well done, I thought your model looked fantastic!

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  2. I like how you have chosen to use wood for your squeezer and I think you could embody a greater sense of history and narrative by perhaps using a carved hardwood instead of pine, to add a bit of value to the object as a "crafted one-off". Semantically the object reveals it's use well. This is a testament to your construction.

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  3. I saw a lot of the development work that was put in to reach this final design and I was very impressed with the range of issues that you covered. I believe this product would be successful within your target market as you have considered many aspects in the life of the '48 - 50 year old woman'. If you were to look at moving this product into the market, I would suggest looking at different wood stain finishes as this dark stain may not suit all consumers in your target market.

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  4. A very beautiful product, both as a tool and a sculpture. It holds well in the palm of ones hand and provides an overall control for the user. Being stored in a drawer or cupboard wouldn't do it justice - it needs to be on display in the kitchen to be admired. Perhaps it could come in a variety of materials - coloured polyurethane for children, or brushed stainless steel for a more modern kitchen... Overall, it's a very successful design.

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  5. Sound design, lots of of well resolved development. Your geometry is perfect, excellent appearance model! I think i different finish would better suit the market, maybe a matt finish that shows off the underlying gain? Maybe some more indicators on where to put your fingers?

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