The Plastic-Free Kitchen
Exhibited at DesignTO 2019
Semester-long group project for OCAD U's Interdisciplinary 3rd-year Participatory Design Course.
Project Objective
Construct design sessions and collaborate with community members from Sketch Working Arts, with help from Co-Design, in order to develop a line of products that fit a certain theme. These collaborators were the main stakeholders for the duration of the project.
The goal of the collaborative sessions were to creatively generate vast design possibilities by putting all participants on equal creative grounds, and enhancing their experience with woodworking.
The theme ‘Plastic-Free Kitchen’ was decided early in the process by the group of artists from Sketch that were participating in the collaborative project.
The products were exhibited at Haworth Showroom in Toronto, as part of the 2019 DesignTO Festival.
Initial Product Line
The Sketch artists focused on designing products that would provide a variety of educational experiences in woodworking methods & techniques throughout the fabrication process for each object.
After prototyping, feedback, redesign, trial & error testing, and fabrication, the members of Sketch finalized their product designs.
The products created included tongs, trivets, stacking bowls, and spice racks - all made of 100% wood!
Product Line Extension
The Product Development Team was also assigned to design related products to extend the line of products the artists at Sketch had designed and created.
The line extension products included salt & pepper shakers, a smartphone stand/speaker, a laser-cut egg cup puzzle, and natural fabric coasters.
Co-Designers:
Raphaëlle Caroff
Amoolia Kodukulla
Yusra Mukhtar
Rhece Holung
Salt & Pepper Shakers
Meg Robson designed a set of wooden salt & pepper shakers as part of the product line extension. The geometrically faceted form is similar to popular polygonal art style. The concept behind the design of these salt & pepper shakers was inspired by the initial forms that one of the Sketch artists, Aileen, had implemented in the design of her first prototypes.
The method of carving away from a wooden block form inspires a very organic and uniquely original form created by each individual artist who partakes in this woodworking project.
The final products were simple and easy to fabricate by utilizing scrap wood, wood glue, tape, a band saw, a drill-press, and sandpaper.
DesignTO 2019 Exhibit at OCAD U's Great Hall
This exhibition of work was created through a collaboration between SKETCH Working Arts, Co-design, and students and faculty in OCAD University’s Participatory Design course.
SKETCH is a community enterprise based in Toronto that engages young people living on the margins to experience the transformative power of the arts. Developing design thinking and fabrication skills were at the core of this project as SKETCH develops a model for a new wood based social enterprise at its location in Artscape Youngplace.
