Evaluating Kitchen Appliances through Design Specifications

1. Evaluation Internal Assessment
Design Challenge
Kitchen Appliances or Utensils can be useful practical and timesaving devices. Some however are
badly designed and impractical or even dangerous. Some devices are easy to identify and easy to
work out how to use others not so.
Task:
Choose two appliances/utensils and evaluate their practicality, usefulness and overall
design. Appliances can be electrical but don’t have to be.
Eg Coffee Maker or a Can opener./ Chopping Board.etc
Select a focus for your investigation using a Design Brief and Design Specifications. Use a report
format that highlights your information in each specific sub heading. Include references to each
article, statistic or data you source. Make sure you explain your methodology with reasoning and
justification
Kitchen appliances or Utensils
Testing them or looking at a variety of them is a crucial evaluative task and will allow you to
identify design features that are good, bad or ugly……
Consider also
The target Market of these utensils. Should they be redesigned with a consideration for other user
groups? Older people, younger people, disabled or other society groups that find using these
items difficult.
Could these items be redesigned with the potential to have other uses?
Could these items be redesigned with the potential to be incorporated into another utensil?
What about the disposal or recycling /reuse of the materials used in its construction?
What ergonomic changes could be necessary?
What aesthetic changes could be suggested?
Examine them with a view to improving their design in some or as many ways as possible

2. How will this be assessed? Using Assessment Criteria - Evaluation Aspects
Each aspect will be awarded one of three levels:
Complete You have met the criteria fully 2 marks
Partial You have met some but not all of the criterion 1 mark
Not at all You haven’t met the criterion at all 0mark
Aspect 1 Conclusion
Devise a test or checks. Identify what sort of test or, checks are appropriate for the
utensil you have chosen. You will specify at least 5 criteria that you are evaluating. Justify
these. Why and How?
What equipment, method or other information is relevant? See Topic 7.1.1 in your workbooks.
How will you gauge the success and failures of the utensil? Consider all positive and negative
aspects.
Use a Design Brief and List Design Specifications you are evaluating. Use a grade system to
record your results eg, tables, graphs etc You may also consider researching standards for
the items you have chosen BSI, ISO etc
Create a short questionnaire 6-8 questions)and ask parents or brothers, sisters their
interpretation of the utensil and record their comments or feedback for your evaluation
Analyse all your findings
To achieve a 2 you need to provide clear evidence of a valid conclusion that addresses
the brief or research question
Aspect 2 Procedure
Show detailed photographic evidence of the appliance./ utensil you are evaluating and the
target market or user using the equipment.
Test the product against a range of criteria specified by you in the previous aspect. Use
photographic evidence to support your justifications and comments.
This aspect is basically the summary/conclusions of your findings from the testing. Make
sure you explain each result and what it was you were testing. What you were hoping to find
out. Ensure that you conclude with what you have found out. What works what doesn’t What
was useful and how this information can influence design in the future
To achieve a 2 you need to include comprehensive evaluation of procedure at each stage
of this investigation.

3. Aspect 3 Recommendations
Using your feedback and results explain how you could suggest modifications to the
utensil/appliance to improve it. You may need to improve it in several areas or just one. If
possible annotate photographs or do sketches or models of these improvement suggestions.
Explain all modifications with diagrams and clear design terminology (words) These are your
recommendations for improvements. Try to keep your improvements realistic.
A summary evaluation that compares the weaknesses in the first design and the
advantages/improvements of your designs
To achieve a 2 you need to make realistic recommendations for improvement of the
utensil
See these websites below…
http://www.designcouncil.info/betterbydesign/life/issues.html
http://www.designcouncil.info/betterbydesign/life/challenge.html