Design for $5 Interviews

The Kitchen Tongs

The object with bad design I have chosen is this pair of kitchen tongs. I interviewed five different people asking how they would use them (1), what was good about the object (2), and what could be improved(3):

Beth:
(1) I would use them to get hot food out of pots and pans.

(2) Initially she said nothing was good about the object. Then she went on to say that they would work better than a fork to grab objects because they only require one hand. Another plus was that they were inexpensive. 

(3) She made a list of things that could be improved:

-Nothing was on the ends except metal, which could scratch the pan. 

-They were too short. 

-Your hand might get hot when the heat traveled up the metal. 

-The tongs don’t line up. 

                                            -The metal was too light-weight. 

Tom:

(1) I would use the objects to pinch people with (jokingly), but they would be useful on the grill to flip hamburgers or hot dogs. 

(2) He listed good attributes being that they could be used in the kitchen or on the grill, he felt they were long enough, and he also like the polished look. 

(3) He felt that things that could be improved was making the object more sturdy. Also, he felt the ends were too sharp. He did not like how they would conduct heat and make your hand hot. 

Dale:

(1) I would use them to pick things up, most likely in the kitchen, if they were either too hot or too messy to handle. 

(2) He liked how shiny the metal was, also he thought the ridges on the ends looked nice and would be useful. He also thought that it was nice they were able to be compacted together. 

(3) He didn’t like how loose and flimsy they were. Also, he thought they could have a nicer look to them, and maybe a fun element to them to make them stand out. 

Emily:

(1) I would use them for cooking, and picking up hot food. 

(2) She liked how shiny they were. 

(3) Her main problem with the tongs was how “noisy” they were, and how the metal was uncomfortable to hear when it joined together.

Shelby:
(1) I would use it to pick up food, maybe for salad.
(2) She really liked the length, and how it clasped together when you didn’t need to use it.
(3) She thought it was “ugly,” maybe could be improved to look sleeker and more expensive. She also didn’t like how it did not line up.