Accessibility Design is an integral part of every project whether we know it or not. We often start with an idea of what will work, but for many projects there is a need to check in with users to confirm our directions, assumptions and methods. Often we must face the fact that we made wrong turns, must kill our darlings, must simplify or add, but the outcome is immeasurably better for the effort.
Handled
as Designer/FabricatorITP NYU Thesis| 2015
User-based research for assitive cooking tools
Handled, winner of the Ability Lab Grant 2014 and one of the pilot projects of the Good Work Institute, was a series of assistive devices that helped people with lowed mobility cook. Intended to aid people with anything from arthritis, bilateral amputation, paralysis and cerebral palsy, Handled worked with existing cooking tools and needed no special equipment or training. Open-source and designed based on research with individuals in the disability community, Handled used 3D modelling, 3D printing, silicone casting, CNC and was my masters thesis project at ITP.
Initial testing and research with the amazing volunteers at United Cerebral Palsy of New York as well as individuals contacted through NYU’s Ability Lab lead to a series of modular handles designed to fit exisitng cookware. These were cast from foodsafe silicone using 3D printed molds that were made available for free on opensource platform Thinigverse.
A second phase of testing with home-cook volunteers Jen and Jamie who live with rheumatoid arthritis and Alex, who lost an arm in childhood. We cooked a meal together to demonstrate the tools.
The project was awarded 2nd place by the UC Davis Universal Design Competition 2016 and was an inaugural fellow of the Etsy.org (now Goodwork Institute) regenerative Entrepreurship program in 2015.
Kid Testing
User Testing of ITP Projects
