knife set

I have been looking into a set of knives to come with our knife shelf. In looking at existing knife sets the majority of blocks come with the same set of 5 types of knife: a bread knife; a large chopping knife; and 3 different sizes of slimmer cutting knives.

I have designed these knives to each be one solid metal piece, which is then anodized. i chose to make each knife a solid singular piece as this will give each knife a good weight and solid feel. 

I think the addition of colour will add a nice aesthetic to the block. I chose the colours based on the colours used in other Umbra products.

 This render is not a knife set, but is just for easy colour comparison.

playing with the form

Matt - Reworking form

I have had a play around with the form over the past couple of days, focusing on trying to use horizontal knife slots.

 i think this design showcases the knives effectively, and having a 3 edged rim for the glass edge is an improvement on my previous post, but that the use of vertical slots may not allow for enough knife storage.

 I think this design works well, but the curve of the design below provides a better aesthetic.

i think this last design would be my preferred option from this post. the glass would not necessarily be romovble but i like that the knives can be clearly seen as well as providing wall hanging or standing the block on either of the two straight edges or laid down flat. It is also U shaped so could have a name to tie in with umbra, for example the U block. 

playing with the form

Matt - Iteration of third design from "Favourites 11/11"

 I have been looking at the third design shown in the last post. My thoughts are that it could be made using two components, a back block made using wood or a high gloss colourful plastic and a glass or perspex front.

the wooden back gives the shelf a nice aesthetic, and the plastic option opens the possibility of a range of bright colours to stand out in a kitchen. I also think that to have the knives pull out from only one side may look neater than using both.

 the triangular shape allows for a range of usage possibilities, although there are holes on the back for wall mounting as a shelf, there is nothing to stop the user storing the knife shelf in the same way as a block as shown in any of the first 3 ways shown in the above image. 

The clear front can be easily slipped out for cleaning. one marketing point that I plan to look into is what is in the bottom of a slot in a knife block that is used over time, as I predict that it could be quite surprising to see what has collected in the bottom of the slots where the user cannot see. The removable front, and the possibility of the product being dishwasher safe, give the USP of being cleaner than a standard knife block.

Favorites 11/11

these are the ones the professors liked the most out of our concepts so far. they address issues of visual hierarchy as well as use of space.....they fit within the common wall space of 16" or so between counter top and cabinet. the first is the most aesthetically appealing but the others have better visual hierarchy. matt, we adapted the last one just with the knife handles on the side so that it fits better on the wall. what do you think?

Lauren 11/11

here's a couple more ideas. another thing we could play with is the dual functionality.......what if it was a knife rack/cutting board instead of a knife rack/shelf

Lauren's Concepts 11/11

Matt - first thoughts based on the inital feedback from umbra

I would agree with what mike wrote up previously about the feedback from umbra. It was also my impression that the dish rack and snack caddy should be dropped and the knife shelf should be a focus. Below are a few ideas I rendered today based on this feedback.

With all the designs I would agree that a hierarchy system is needed or that the knives should be on show. 

With the last image I have designed more of a block, I think it may be beneficial to explore both shelves and blocks to see all options. I see this block

I haven't done research yet into where in the kitchen the concept could go, but I definitely agree that this is an exercise that will be beneficial in deciding on how the shelf should be.

I also think it may be good to Skype again soon if possible to further discuss the feedback and some first concept ideas.

Thanks.

 

Moving Forward

Hey Matt,

From what we gathered from our skype session with umbra there are some things we can do to
move forward with this project.


Since they blew over the snack caddy and the slinky dishrack, they're done. were dumping them.

And since paul expressed some interest in the knife shelf it's the only way we can really go

From what we understand, all that we really need to do is refine the shelf.


First we need to decide where in the kitchen it should go, so we need to do ample research. Galen and I have done a little and we're leaning towards the space between the counter top and the bottom of the cabinets as the most prommising place to put the shelf. but send us any info you can gather.

We also need to create a hierarchy in the organization of the shelf. Make it intuitive for the user to distinguish the large knifes from the smaller ones. play with it. we'll do the same.


Thanks