OBJECT OF DESIRE
In this project, I had the opportunity to explore the works of a renowned designer who has left a significant impact on the field. Through research and analysis, I sought inspiration from this designer's unique style, philosophy, and innovative approach. Drawing from their influence, I embarked on the exciting journey of designing a container of our choice that not only showcases their distinctive design elements but also reflects my own creative vision.
I considered my personal interests in order to reflect a piece of myself in my work and chose to design a knife block. As a former chef and an avid home cook, I've always believed that there should be unique kitchen equipment because, in the field of kitchenware design, function prevails over form.
My Inspiration
I chose Zaha Hadid as my inspiration for my work because she was an extraordinary architect who pushed the boundaries of design and reshaped the world of contemporary architecture. Her innovative and visionary approach to architecture captivated me, as she seamlessly blended organic forms with futuristic aesthetics, creating structures that were not only functional but also works of art. By drawing inspiration from Zaha Hadid, I hope to infuse my projects with a sense of boldness, elegance, and visionary thinking, just as she did in her iconic designs.
I believe that Hadid's skill at integrating faceted, geometric architecture with curvilinear and organic form fits excellently with the shapes seen in kitchenware and opens up a wide range of conceptual paths.
Concept Development
For the initial stages of ideation, I set out to encorporate the forms and topology from Hadid’s architecture into the sketches, from these I felt that the faceted and geometic designs paired well with the sharpness and angular shapes of knives. I then developed my ideas by combining elements from the sketches to produce 3 moe detailed drawings. After consideration, I decided to proceed with the centre image since it possesses the bold and futuristic look that can be found in Hadid's work. I then turned my focus on creating the knife handles to fit with the design of the knife blocks…
Knife handles are primarily functionally designed, and I couldn't ignore that when I matched the form to the irregular contours of the knife block throughout the design stage. I chose this design because it encaptured the knife block while balancing with the uniform shapes found in traditional Japanese handle craftsmanship.
CAD Devlopment
Final Product
I experimented with colours and materials in the final design stage to achieve the look I was going for. I chose this texturerd grey appearance for the knife block because it had a monolithic stone appearance and a futuristic aspect because of the reflective nature that makes the individual faces stand out.
I picked this soft black texture to contrast with the sharpness since I didn't want the handles to detract from the knife block itself. From a fucntional standpoint, this also benefits the user experience when using the knives.
To finish off the project our Photohsop and Illustrator skills were tested to create a poster for the product we had just designed, i aimed to make it visually intriguing and capture the essense of the products in the graphics.