Flow-Form Spatula
How Can a Spatula Feel Communicative in Your Hand?
An exercise in surfacing and ergonomics, I set out to create a spatula that improves usability and human-centered practicality while learning different fabrication techniques.
Form that Leads.
Designed to communicate with your hand with it's hard edges and soft surfaces, the grip of this spatula feels intuitive the moment it is picked up.
Highly directional form of the spatula makes cooking experience feel precise, agile, and intuitive.
Chamfered grip-end design encourages fingers to wrap around, securing the hand in place.
Exploring Ergonomics Through Sketching.
I set out with the goal of making the spatula's overall silhouette dynamic while maintaining a straight ergonomic grip. Sketching many ideas played a key role in my form development process.
Taking inspiration from the energetic form of a wasp for the handle design.
Fabrication journey.
Prototyping.
What makes a grip feel secure? What areas do my fingers gravitate towards? Ergonomics cannot be experienced on paper. Physical prototyping helped me determine the angles and proportions of the spatula, and many iterations later, it led me to my final design.
A progression of how I slowly arrived at my final form prototype (gray).
These prototypes informed my subsequent designs to a great extent in terms of balancing ergonomics with aesthetic form.
3D Printing.
Before fabricating the spatula out of wood, I created one last prototype to refine the details of the design.
Fabrication.
Using a bandsaw, I cut out the rough shape of the spatula using a template.
A continuous process of sanding the wood and comparing with my foam models.
Prepping the 3D print for primer with Bondo.
Additional Photos
The spatula was a lighter, more natural tone before applying any mineral oil.
