FAINA IASEN
SPICE & MORTAR Product
BA (Hons) Product Design 2019/20 Final Major Project
contact info:
Spice and Mortar product book by Faina Iasen, 2020
spice + mortar modular spice storage system
Spice+mortar is a modular spice storage system that calls to rethink the way we treat our spices. A precious resource that travels half the world until it comes to our homes to make our food better. It aims to eliminate the minor every-day irritations caused by the imperfect design of spice storages on the market today. It blends into the interior or becomes an accent in the kitchen - the decision is yours. It is customisable to cater to everyone's individual needs and improve their cooking experience in ways that are subtle but significant.
Interior visualisation by Alyona Starostina @s3dvis
Interior visualisation by Alyona Starostina @s3dvis
Interior visualisation by Alyona Starostina @s3dvis
Interior visualisation by Alyona Starostina @s3dvis
Interior visualisation by Alyona Starostina @s3dvis
Spice unit
Mortar unit
Casing
birch
wallnut
copper
black ash
brass
maple
'carbon'
steel
spice + mortar packaging
Logo / label I wanted to keep the packaging minimalistic and as clean as possible, so I designed a logo that also acts as a label of what's inside the box. Depending on the contents, specific parts of the logo are gilded as an indication. Nothing on the packaging is printed, all elements are embossed into the outer paper layer, and the labels are guided.
casing
spice unit
mortar unit
Push The packaging is designed to allow for easy unboxing. All you need to do is to remove a seal on the open end and then push through the opening on the other end with your fingers for the inner box to slide out. The instructions are also labled on stickers and inside the push opening for added clarity.
Unboxing The design of all elements' packaging is unified, so all boxes slide out when pushed. In my opinion, it's the easiest and most accessible design for these box-like products.. Making the packaging identical across the product series will avoid confusion during the unboxing and provide a satisfactory experience of reveal when the inner ox slides out and the product is finally visible.
Posters I had the honour to collaborate with amazing Katya Slobodskaya on a series of promotional posters for the collection. I did the renders, and she designed the gorgeous posters you're about to see.
Graphic design by Katya Slobodskaya @intkatgd
Backside of the posters
Style The products are rendered ina single texture-less material to accent the viewer's attention on the details and nuances of the design. The clean and elegant style of the posters relates to the clean, minimalistic concept of the product itself. The goal of the posters is to showcase the product's appearance as much as it's function.
Graphic design by Katya Slobodskaya @intkatgd
Limited customisation The S+M modular system is customisable, but to an extent - I call it a concept of limited customisation. The user gets enough editing power to make the product suit their need, but not enough to confuse them with the abundance of choice, as well as make it unsustainable for production.
S+M website I've developed a site map for the product's website to showcase the user experience when they come to see the product, read the news, track their order or to order a new S+M set-up. There are multiple ways of ordering - you can choose a set-up from a gallery of standards, import through a set-up code or create your own through the constructor tool.
Click (on computer) or scan (on your phone) to view the site-map of the S+M website.
Step 1. Define the size of the set-up The user is presented with a grid that represents all possible sizes and is asked to choose their preferred size by swiping from the bottom left corner to the desired size. It helps to visually represent the proportions of the future set-up. It makes it easier for the user to visualise it. When a grid is chosen, below it is the size in both number of units and centimetres to help keep them figure out the needed size and how it will fit into their kitchen. The set-up can't be less than 3 units wide or tall or more than 11 units wide and 7 units tall.
Click (on computer) or scan (on your phone) to view the interactive prototype & try out the (restricted) process
minimun set-up 3x3 units 14.5cm x 14.5cm
Size limitations The size of a set-up is limited from bot minimun and maximum sizes. It's based on 4 things: 1. It's irrational to buy a set-up like this for less than 6-9 spices. 2. It's impossible to include a mortar unit in a set-up that's less than 3 unit wide.
maximum set-up 11x7 units 46cm x 32cm
3. The maximum set-up allows for 77 units or 74 units and a mortar. Having more spices than that is highly above average, so in case anyone will need more than can order several set-ups smaller in size and place them together or separately the way that's the most comfortable for them. 4. Having more possible size variations will make production harder.
Step 2. Place the modules On the second step, the user is asked to place the modules they need in the grid of their chosen size. All possible modules are displayed below the grid and are place by tapping a module and dragging it into the grid. If a module was misplaced, it could be deleted by tapping n it and pressing the x button.
Modules
Spice unit
Mortar unit
The basic unit that stores the spice. Take up one tile of the grid. Can be placed into any of the grid spaces.
The unit for crushing the spice. Take up three horizontal tiles of the grid. One set-up can have up to 5 mortars (in the 10 or 11 units width) Can only be placed into the lower line of the grid due to its heavyweight and risk of losing stability in case of placing higher. Another reason is that the user might not realise the weight of the unit. It may drop it accidentally when taking out of higher lines, possibly hurting the user and/or their property.
??? Future modules
Any of the future modules will be placed in the same row below the grid. At any time, the user can tap on a module to read more about it.
Step 3. Choose the materials On the third step, the user is provided with material colour options. A choice of four types of metal and four types of wood results in 16 possible colour combinations and can accommodate almost any interior. The user is continuously provided with a preview of the colours they've chosen and the names of materials.
steel
Cusom wood colour can be discussed in separate cases. If a client wishes to wait longer and pay additional fees for unique items. Same offer stands for large orders from partner companies.
brass
copper
Click (on computer) or scan (on your phone) to view the interactive prototype to try out the full variety of colours.
'carbon'
birch
maple
wallnut
black ash
Step 4. Review and confirm The fourth and final step provides the user with a full preview of their set-up, it's size, price and set-up code. From there, the user can take several actions:
1. Copy and save their set-up code for later reference or sharing with friends. 2. Come back and change their set-up at any of the steps by choosing the step they want to iterate. 3. Proceed to order the set-up they made. This is the same screen the user gets if they use an import code - they can order it as is or edit the set-up that was imported before ordering.
Edit size
Edit modules
Edit materials
When choosing the 'edit size' option, the user will be asked if they'd like to reset the whole process or autoresize the set-up but keep other elements unedited. Resizing the width will re=position the mortar (if any) to the middle of the set-up. After resizing, the user will be shown a preview of the auto-replaced module and asked to confirm or edit.
When choosing the 'edit modules' option, the user will be asked if they'd like to fully reset the placed modules or keep them and edit them selectively.
The 'edit materials' option will revert user to the previous step, and they will be able to try all the different combination until they confirm the new look.
Import codes For partnering agencies or sharing with friends or ordering an identical set-up, an import code can be used. It is generated with each set-up and is updated while the user changes their set-up in the customisation tool. This can help save time for agencies who order multiple units at the same time, showrooms which hold several identical units in-store or individuals who want to buy copies of existing set-ups but don't want to spend time constructing them every time. On the right, you can see the structure of the code, which is relatively simple once you know which variables take which spaces.
width (in № of units)
wood colour
n _ X n _ (Mn _) n _ n _ height (in № of units)
mortar (if any) and its middle
metal colour
Here are just a couple examples to help you understand how it works:
4X7M444
3X11M613
5X5M342
Height 4, Width 7, mortar middle on 4th tile, metal colour №4 (black ash), wood colour № 4 (carbon)
Height 3, Width 11, mortar middle on 6th tile, metal colour №1 (maple), wood colour № 3 (copper)
Height 5, Width 5, mortar middle on 3rd tile, metal colour №4 (black ash), wood colour № 2 (brass)
Future for this project Future for designThis project has a lot of possibility for scaling and future development that I'd like to try and pursue. Here're the ways I see it grow: Developing new modules: for spices, tea & coffee, liquids (e.g. oils, seasonings) A series of modular storages / single units for other produce, mostly bulk-bought (e.g. flour, rice, noodles) A collection of kitchen tools (e.g. spatulas, cutting boards, measuring cups) Spices distribution with educational material on their historical and geographical context (a.k.a. the regional spices I talked about in the research book) An educational blog on the website - about spices, their history, legends and recipes
Future for this product As for the future of this particular product, I'd like to use it as the start of my career and building my personal brand. These are the ways I plan on doing so: First of all, I need to produce a working prototype, which sadly is impossible in the current circumstances. Still, I hope to achieve it until the end of this summer, or at least this year if the epidemiological situation turns out to be worst than first expected. I want to try and put this product in as many exhibitions as possible, be it physical or digital. I want to create a Kickstarter campaign and raise money for mass production of the Spice + Mortar storages. I want to find a team to work on scaling this project and putting it out into the world. Over the course of this project, I realised that it wouldn't survive as a one-person operation. I can't do everything on my own since my areas of expertise don't cover all the needs of a successful start-up like this.
Faina Iasen, 2020