An ergonomic utensil to challenge social norms and spark conversations about table manners by enabling users to “steal” food from others’ plates. Developed through iterative prototyping and user testing, culminating in three refined models. Final designs were digitally created, 3D printed, and cast in metal.
A series of aluminum utensils using PLA burnout and plaster cast shell techniques. Designed three distinct models to promote versatility and introduce creativity and playfulness to the dining experience.
Appled Skills: Casting, Metal finishing, 3D Modelling (Fusion, Blender, 3D Printing, Meshmixer), User Testing.
Process
I began by rough-sketching “food-theft” gestures- pinch, scoop, spear- and translating each into quick plastic formed and 3D printed mock-ups that I passed around a dinner table to watch real reactions. Hand measurements and grip studies informed ergonomics, while successive user-testing rounds revealed which angles felt mischievous yet comfortable.
Capturing those refined geometries, I modelled three variants in Fusion 360, then sculpted subtler surface sweeps in Blender and repaired meshes in Meshmixer. Each file was 3D-printed in PLA, giving full-scale handles I could test for reach and leverage.
For metal production, I invested the prints in a plaster-silica shell, burned out the PLA, and gravity-poured recycled aluminium. After knockout, I trimmed gates, sand-blasted, and hand-polished the eating surfaces, leaving the outer skins satin-textured to hint at their cast origin. The result: a trio of playful utensils whose material heft and ergonomic contours invite diners to break etiquette- and start talking about it.
©bridgetcathie.com by Bridget Cathie