Coto Process
Prompt: Design a product that meets the needs and wants for a user that practices an everyday ritual.
Problem
A good majority of people, specifically the younger generations, don’t often cook much. Whether its due to lack of interest or simply being too busy this interferes with the ritual of coming together for dinner. This development can ripple across centuries and affect us for futures to come.
Research
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We interviewed various people such as professional cooks, stay at home moms, International housing parents and even some students to better understand the ritual of cooking.
Their feedback gave us insight to the different methods, traditions and feelings that goes into cooking.
What people said
Space issues in their kitchen 70%
Clean while they cook 50%
Enjoys the social aspect 75%
Has a motivational process 62%
Cooking reminds them of the past 75%
Prefers to work with hands 87%
Likes to present their food 70%
Enjoys learning about new recipes 75%
Dislikes cleaning dishes 62%
Through much research we decided on the opportunities that we wanted to focus on.
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Configuration of preexisting kitchen space
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Improvement of large equipment
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Bringing people together or reconnecting people
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Incorporating new and old traditions
Our Goal
To bring people together through cooking, by understanding culture and also working with the preexisting kitchen layout to promote togetherness while at the same time incorporating some technology to ease the cooking experience.
Inspiration
While learning more about our ritual, we found inspiration in Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurants, which allow people to cook together. The experience is great but meals can get pretty pricey and most people wouldn't go out to eat like this often.
Testing Hardware
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We were conflicted of whether the hot plate area would be electric or induction so we decided to experiment to see which hot plate cooked the BBQ faster. As a result from our test we decided to go with an induction hot plate as it could still cook BBQ just fine, heats up faster and it is much easier to clean.
Understanding the kitchen layout
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We looked at different kitchen layouts and imagined where everyone would be standing while preparing items or cooking. .After looking at the layouts, we realized that the island and peninsula floor plans were the only ones that allowed users to face each other. This pushed us to design a concept that would be ideally used on a dinner table.
Multi-functional
Prepping food together
Facing each other
Ideation
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We explored many different ideas incorporating the opportunities we wanted to focus on and chose certain aspects that we liked about each concept. After pointing out certain aspects, forms and functions of each ideas we started to hone in on some concepts.
All in one unit
Mocking it up
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We made several different foam core mock-ups in the beginning to explore but then started to focus on the One Kit concept.
After exploring a few features we built a final test model base to see how some features would fit.
Process makes perfect
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Once we learned everything we could from the making the test model we then began the process of building the final.
Coto
The Cook Together set, is ideal for those who wish to spend quality with their loved ones while preparing a meal.
This versatile and well-designed cooking set serves as an ideal catalyst for bringing loved ones together, fostering not only the creation of delicious meals but also the cultivation of cherished moments and meaningful connections.
Crafted with innovation in mind, this set employs a cutting-edge induction hot plate as its heat source, ensuring a contemporary and efficient cooking experience for families.
Collaborators:
Fernando Bustos
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Year:
2019
