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1-Hour Design Challenge

The Winner of Our 1-Hour Design Challenge Is....

Which versatile kitchen tool wins all the marbles?

By Core Jr - April 5, 2016

Our tendency to buy groceries and waste them along with shrinking kitchen spaces and a large influx of niche products on the market all make for an anthill of issues revolving around food. This storm of factors makes the realm of food and kitchens perfect fodder for design improvement and therefore a great 1-Hour Design Challenge topic!

We asked the Core77 audience in our latest design challenge, how could you design a multipurpose tool for the kitchen that adds true value to your life? Well we're happy to report that you all had tons of answers and great ones at that, and we've determined a grand prize winner!

Here's our list of winners and honorable mentions in the 1-Hour Versatile Kitchen Tool Design Challenge:

GRAND PRIZE

The 3-in-1 Mixing Bowl Cutting Board Oven Tray by Nina Zheng

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Nina Zheng's ingenious mix of functions and form factors make it a true winner. After being continuously irritated by all the dishes you have to wash after preparing a home-cooked meal, Zheng had to "address [her] laziness" by making this clever cutting board-mixing bowl-oven tray combo. Judges Kyleigh Wawak and Eleanor Sandford of gravitytank saw this as a clear favorite due to it's thoughtful intent:

"They understood the process and where there was opportunity to improve it. Transformational aspect is something we're seeing a lot of recently. [We would] encourage the designer to explore different materials and prototype functionality to understand how it would actually work."

HONORABLE MENTION

Food Savior by Cindy Mijares

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Mijare's design challenge entry stood out due to it's innovative thoughtfulness regarding how to tackle a very relevant topic today in the world: food waste. Her "Food Savior" solution utilizes a novel sticker technology that detects when food is about to rot while storing the information on your phone. "By detecting ethylene, stickers sense the ethylene and change color", says Mijares. "This sends a warning to your cellphone letting you know [your food] is about to rot." Judge Joey Zeledon saw this as a very fresh idea:

"Food waste is an extremely relevant issue. The Food Savior is addressing the right problem to solve in the kitchen...[Plus] it's more about the food and less about the gadget. The gadget is just an enabler of the larger experience. Well done."

Thanks again everyone for your submissions! Congratulations to the grand prize winner, who will be taking home the amazing OXO On Illuminating Digital Immersion Blender, designed by Design Challenge judge Joey Zeledon's team at Smart Design!

Also: stay tuned in the future for more 1-Hour Design Challenges by joining our Facebook group or following our 1-HDC discussion board page!

1-Hour Design Challenge

15 Comments

Adora Tsang

3 years ago

Z

6Z

Reply

What am I missing? I just don't think that's spatially possible.

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- Mark Salerno
  
  Adora Tsang
  
  3 years ago
  
  Z
  
  Z
  
  Reply
  
  Indeed. Although they do mention exploring further. I think the concept is good and could resolved with another geometry or transformation technique/material such as silicone.
  
  But I for one really appreciate your critical thinking. Too many designers lately are producing ideas thar are not feasible, or unwilling to develope further to make it doable.
  
  If only the winner would have produced a model such as yourself.
  
  A lot to be learned here.
  
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  - Sean Horita
    
    Mark Salerno
    
    3 years ago
    
    Z
    
    1Z
    
    Nice.
    
    1HDC winner care to reply?
    
    "Exploring further" is synonymous for "don't look too closely"?
    
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  - Adora Tsang
    
    Mark Salerno
    
    3 years ago
    
    Z
    
    Z
    
    Not saying it's entirely impossible. The closest thing that can make this concept happen would be like those collapsible plastic crates. Perhaps silicone.
    
    But I have a feeling the drawing of the working design would not be cool enough to win.
    
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- James Curd
  
  Adora Tsang
  
  3 years ago
  
  Z
  
  Z
  
  Reply
  
  When the design says “Push in center,” it isn't telling you how to create it, it's telling you that you push the chopped food into the cracks of the metal cutting board to have it fall into the cone below it.
  
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  - Adora Tsang
    
    James Curd
    
    3 years ago
    
    Z
    
    Z
    
    So you're saying that the cone had always been there, underneath the chopping board?
    
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Adora Tsang

3 years ago

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2Z

Reply

Just tried to fold some paper in the 3-in-1, I really don't think the cone would look like that. It seems spatially impossible, unless the bottom is made with something stretchy like stocking. Even so, the corners just don't come together like that.

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Eric Strebel

3 years ago

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1Z

Reply

Who Judges this stuff? Seems like they may need to back to design school....Not very encouraging to get people to participate if you can just make something up that will not work and WIN!

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- Adora Tsang
  
  Eric Strebel
  
  3 years ago
  
  Z
  
  1Z
  
  Reply
  
  We don't want to discourage design, but it has to work. Don't even care about the material, cost of marketing. It's a shame this object can only exist in Escher-like drawing.
  I was wondering if we could see the 2nd place that might work.
  
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  - Jacob Ortwein
    
    Adora Tsang
    
    3 years ago
    
    Z
    
    Z
    
    Can't the grey under the triangle shapes be some type of a rubber material, similar to the silicone baking pans? They would also need a few more folds in that rubber to make it fold out, but the idea is there. Remember, it was only an hour to come up with the solution.
    
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- James Curd
  
  Eric Strebel
  
  3 years ago
  
  Z
  
  Z
  
  Reply
  
  No reason the product wouldn't work. I think you just misinterpreted what they meant by “Push in center.” It's two pieces (the metal cutting board with an X opening and the cone that sits below it), not a board that turns into the mixing bowl.
  
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  - Sean Horita
    
    James Curd
    
    3 years ago
    
    Z
    
    Z
    
    The concept is titled '3-in-1'. Its not two pieces.
    
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Scott T

3 years ago

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Z

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This idea may work if the interior was an offset or almost offset of the exterior shape. I am wondering what happens when the silicone portion gets hot. Will it lose its rigidity and not hold its collapsed form?

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Nina Zheng

3 years ago

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Z

Reply

Hey all!

I thank you all for your input, and present to you, a very crude model!

So yes, you're right, the sketch does not translate into real life very well, but the sketch was primarily to communicate concept.

With more time I hope to turn this into a fully realized product. For now all I can respond with is this model. My next steps will be to make it full size, and testing with cut acrylic and silicone.

If you have any interest in seeing updates I'll post them to my behance:https://www.behance.net/NinaZheng, but above all, thank you for the discussion.

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Bruno Tavares Carreiro

3 years ago

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Z

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As it's been pointed out by other commenters in this thread the "3-in-1" object wouldn't really work.
Even if the connecting material in the X was flexible, the triangular flaps themselves change dimensions when the board becomes a pyramid.
The way to make this work would be if the flaps were themselves flexible, but then they probably wouldn't be able to hold the pyramidal shape and probably wouldn't make for a very good cutting board.

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