Utilitarian Design

IDEO & Zyliss

Reinvent kitchen tools

Role

Design Researcher

Year

2001–2002

Impact

Launched in 2002, Zyliss tools remain a successful product suite today

Design Challenge: revitalize the Zyliss brand with a suite of new, best-in-class kitchen tools.

Result: successfully launched 24 purposefully designed tools that helped people feel more accomplished with cooking.

Full collection of Zyliss kitchen tools photographed on white — **Red Dot Design Awards:**

Ice Cream Scoop

Mandoline

Rotary Cheese Grater

Pizza & Pastry Cutter

Smart Touch Salad Spinner

About halfway through my clinical psychology graduate degree, I decided to shift from helping one person at a time to making change at a larger scale. I joined IDEO as a design researcher and contributed new methods based on the therapeutic projective techniques from humanistic psychology.

The project for Zyliss expanded their iconic salad spinner and cheese grater to a full complement of tools. I did the design research, traveling to France to study food culture, attending cooking classes for disabled people to observe user struggles, and going into private kitchens to understand how people actually used kitchen tools. I set up food preparation parties for the design team to use major competitor tools.

My team examined the nuances of physical user experience and intuitive understanding about why a tool works for the task at hand. We created essential principles that informed the industrial designers and drove the strategy for the client.

Human Factors insights were interpreted to technical requirements and guided dramatic design differentiation. The collection was designed with anthropometric details for optimal shape, cleanable elements, semi-professional function, and durability with appeal to a broad group of users. The Zyliss case study was referenced as a prime example of human-centered observation on page 44 in Change by Design, by Tim Brown, former CEO of IDEO.

“My kids love graduated cups. Measuring is the first thing they can help me with in the kitchen. It helps them practice fine motor control while learning about measurements.” — Suzana, Mom in Munich

A mother and two children baking together in a home kitchen — Measuring cups are tools that support interactive learning, developing motor control, and positive parent-child relationships.

A child's hands cutting mushrooms on a cutting board during a research session — If tools are designed to be safe, children can help and learn in the kitchen.

A man using kitchen tongs to make up for limited grip strength — Research included people with disabilities. We learned from this man who used tongs to help with his lack of grip strength for everyday tasks.

A white prototype garlic press with a small fragment beside it — Product testing found weak spots in the design, essential before going to market.

An installation at IDEO headquarters showing research photos and finished products — An installation at IDEO HQ of my research photos and resulting products became a tour stop for visitors to learn about human-centered design.