UX Research | Industrial Design | App Design | Branding
ODIN - Knife System
A revolutionary, customizable and sustainable sharp knife system designed for kitchen and food processing plant workers.
Conducted market research, competitive analysis, user research, user interviews, and usability tests to identify potential needs of the target audience based on user behavior data analysis.
Facilitated ideation and prototyping sessions to develop and refine solutions.
Led and designed the product prototype and web app, iterating the prototype based on user feedback and in-depth research.
MY ROLE.
THE PROBLEM.
Kitchen and food processing workers face significant challenges with traditional knives, including cuts from dull blades, repetitive strain injuries, and bacterial contamination of food. The knife sharpening process is time-consuming, costly, and prone to errors, further exacerbating these issues. Additionally, current sharpening services are impractical and often leave workers without essential tools for extended periods. These pain points highlight the urgent need for a more efficient, safe, and user-friendly knife solution in modern kitchen environments.
TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT.
Team Project, Master Thesis
Sept. 2023 - May. 2024
SKILLS & TOOLS.
UX Researcher, Product Designer
Miro, Figma, Photoshop, Premier Pro, Autodesk Fusion 360
TEAM.
UX Researcher & Product Engineer : Duo Xu, Akshay R., Kevin S., Daniel C.
Odin's modular sharp knife system simplifies the user experience with a straightforward blade replacement process, eliminating the need for advanced sharpening skills and reducing downtime. The ergonomic handles are designed to minimize hand strain, and the sustainable blade recycling program supports environmental responsibility. As a result, users benefit from increased productivity, cost savings, and an overall improved kitchen experience, making the Odin knife system an essential tool for workers in agriculture, food processing and kitchens.
SOLUTION.
PRODUCT DEMO.
MARKET RESEARCH - GOAL .
To understand the existing problems and industry challenges, we initiated the research process with market research.
These data findings reveals the market scope and uncovers the key industry pain points, including widespread safety concerns, productivity challenges linked to the daily use and maintenance of knives in professional kitchens and food processing environments.
Emphasizing the importance of safety, efficiency, and proactive maintenance in the design solution.
USER INTERVIEW.
We interviewed 11 food processing workers and chefs, 2 hand and upper extremity ergonomist, and Master Bladesmith Bob Kramer to gain the essential insights into the common pain points, ergonomic challenges, knife maintenance process, and specific needs related to knife usage and hand strain in their daily tasks.
Additionally, we conducted 20 observation and cutting sessions to closely watch chefs in action, learning their methods for holding knives and various cutting techniques to further understand their existing challenges. and ergonomic preferences.
Based on the insights gathered from interviews and observation sessions, we started to focus on the paring knife and chef knife, as these two knives were identified as the most frequently used and presented specific ergonomic challenges for professionals in the industry.
KEY TAKEAWAYS 1 - DULL KNIVES.
According to our target audience, their number one biggest challenge while working with knives is handling a dull blade.
A dull blade requires more pressure to cut, leading to a higher risk of slipping and crushing or tearing food instead of slicing. This can cause bacterial contamination and negatively impact food presentation.
Dull knives also force users to grip harder, causing repetitive strain injury especially when working in 6-8 hr a day over the long term.
In addition, as improperly maintained blade results in less control over the knife which requires much more forces to cut. This increase the mistakes and the risk of hand injuries significantly. Knife-related hand injuries include cuts, punctures, abrasions, and avulsions (torn tissue). Severe cases can damage tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and bones.
KEY TAKEAWAYS 2 - KNIFE SHARPENING.
The second major pain point for our consumer and also for anyone is the knife sharpening correctly. It's a common misconception that knives last forever, but in reality, proper care is crucial to maintaining their longevity.
While it may seem counterintuitive, dull blades actually require much more maintenance and care than the fresh sharp ones. A much higher frequency of sharpening and honing is required to try to restore dull blades’ cutting ability, which can be both time-consuming and costly. After repeated sharpening and honing, especially if done improperly, the metal on the blade edge becomes so deformed that the blades will be permanently damaged and cannot be restored.
Knife sharpening requires years of learning and training for all. As each kind of knives and blades requires a unique sharpening angle degree and method, so even experienced users can make errors.
The sharpening mistakes can not only affect the aesthetic of the precious knives, but also significantly affect the knives’ usability and performance.
For smaller facilities, mobile sharpening services can be a good options if they're local and familiar. However, for bulk requests, careful planning is required as it will take quite a while for such small sharpening operations to process large bulk orders.
Nowadays, there are many online sharpening services available. However, it has a very long turnaround time, often leaving users blameless for 7-14 days plus shipping time. With prices starting at $13.81 per knife plus shipping, this process is both expensive and time-consuming, especially for bulk orders managed by food processing units with hundreds of knives.
User Journey Map for Existing Knife Sharpening Process
RECOMMENDATION - DESIGN CRITERIA.
PROTOTYPE & USER TESTING.
The audience found our customizable knife handle and modular sharp knife system to be simple, efficient, and helpful. However, some feedback highlighted the need for a sheath for safe blade replacements and concerns about potential bacteria buildup due to the gap between the blade and the handle.
