Design Drawing Final
Design a new hand mixer
End of semester project for the Design Drawing course at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Project duration
November 2017 - December 2017
Materials
Transition paper, Copic markers, graphite pencils, a blue colored pencil, a t-square ruler, and post-notes.
Project Role
Product Designer
design statement
Function
The purpose of a hand mixer is to combine ingredients together without the user having to do the work manually with a whisk. With this tool, it saves time and energy for the user to make their desired meal/dessert.
User
The majority of the users who have hand mixers have a baking interest and are usually at home.
opportunities
It has ventilation to avoid getting overheated and it is easy to use. However, the product itself is dated and it needs an elevated look to reach more users.
Rival Hand Mixer
Rival Hand Mixer seen at all angles.
Exploded View
To fully understand how a hand mixer works is by ripping the mixer apart and seeing what makes it work so that I can incorporate it into my design.
Marketing research summary
There are a variety of styles in hand mixers. The most popular is the Kitchenaid brand which it comes with 2 detachable whisks, an additional dough hook, and a flat end for the mixer to rest on the counter while the excess batter from the whisk can spill onto the bowl after mixing.
There’s also the stand mixer, which is also quite popular for mixing various things without having to hold a hand mixer. They are powerful with usually 3-5 speed settings. Comes with various attachments that are not just for baking, but also for making pasta.
And finally the Ninja immersion blender. A smaller, but more powerful hand mixer that allows you to fully blend food for a smooth and runny batter, perfect for smoothies and crepe batter.
Ideation
Images seen with a star were picked for the final 10 concepts
Final 10 Concepts
Final Design
Concept 9 was selected as the final design. Personally, I like that it looks like a power drill. The base of the design helps the hand mixer to stand on its own while the whisk drips off any excess batter into its mixing bowl. The base will also allow for the motor to be installed there along with a batter so that there is no pesky cord in the way.
Going towards the middle of the hand mixer, there’s a rubber grip for comfort and no slipping of the hand while mixing. There are easy to reach buttons acting as a trigger for quick access of speed adjustments.
And finally at the top, the curved back of the head of the mixer allows for ventilation along with a place for the mixer to rest on the user’s hand to stay in place. On the sides are 3 circles that are lights to indicate one of three speed settings: red for high speed, yellow for medium speed, and green for low speed.
