PROJECT SUMMARY
Capsule is a bottle cap design that helps user pour out fixed amount of condiment every time.
TIMEFRAME
2020-2021
TYPE
student project
SKILLS LEARNED
sketching, 3D printing, 3D modeling, user interview
MY GRANDMA & GRANDPA
love cooking for their kids and grandkids
However, as they got older, their hands got shakier and their vision got blurrier. Seeing them struggling to cook every meal, I wanted to design a product to help them find joy in cooking again.
PAINPOINTS
USER INSIGHTS
The elderly don’t want to buy products specifically made for the elderly.
My interviewees told me they feel somewhat uncomfortable purchasing kitchenware specifically designed for the elderly. Growing old is hard enough, they don’t need constant reminder about how different they are from everyone else.
Lack of accurate measurement in the cooking process is a universal struggle.
Whether it is pouring out soy sauce, salad dressing or tomato sauce, people of different age groups share the same struggle with condiments - lack of accurate measurement. There is an opportunity to make the condiment pouring process precise and clean for everyone.
HOW TO: PRECISE POUR
1.0 RAMUNE BOTTLE
Inspiration: Glass ball in a bottle design for the ramune drink.
Hypothesis: As user tilts the bottle, a fixed amount of liquid comes out before the ball seals the opening
Drawback: Depending on the angle of pouring, the time it takes for the ball to roll to the opening changes, thus the amount of liquid comes out differs.
Takeaway: Limit the distance the ball travels.
2.0: HEART VALVE
Inspiration: Artificial heart valve for people with heart valve problems to help regulate blood flow.
Hypothesis: As user tilts the bottle, liquid comes out from the top of the bottle. The ball is trapped in the cage so the error caused by tilt angle and speed is minimized.
Drawback: Having to flip the bottle over is not intuitive, ball does not seal the opening.
Takeaway: Make sure the ball seals the hole.
3.0 DOUBLE LAYER BOTTLE
Inspiration: Improvement based on 2.0.
Hypothesis: By having an inner layer, liquid that is being poured out is trapped on the top of the bottle and is constant every time.
Drawback: Bottle has to be held in a specific way in order for it to work. Form needs improvement
Takeaway: Can we use the double layer mechanism in the bottle cap alone to make the design more adaptable?
4.0 CAPSULE
Inspiration: Improvement based on 3.0
Hypothesis: A double lid design that traps condiment in the middle layer, thus pouring out fixed amount of condiment every time.
Drawback: Only works for newtonian condiment.
Takeaway: Can we customize the bottle cap for different users’ need so it fits their condiment of choice and pours out the exact amount of condiment they want?
