Design Project I
10th June 2020
Course: Simple Product Design
Product: Ice Cream Scoop
RESEARCH GOALS are an important part of research as it directs us to the question of why we are doing the research and what is it that we are trying to get answers for. They guide us by stating what do we want to achieve from our research.
Correspondingly, my research goals are:
- To find how people want to enjoy the experience of consuming ice cream for understanding in what quantities and in what ways it can be served alongside other desserts.
- To find other ice cream serving tools and machines apart from the scoop for studying the difference in how people consumed ice cream before the invention of the scoop and the inventions alongside the scoop.
- To find parallel products of the ice cream scoop and of the process of dispensing/ serving ice cream for getting inspiration from the similar features and characteristics of the products.
Before jumping on to my research goals its Ice Cream Time for all the ice cream lovers. During the lockdown, it has been really difficult to resist the temptation of ice cream in the summers. So why not make it at home!
You don’t need an expensive ice cream machine to enjoy homemade ice cream. The easiest way to make ice cream at home is using just three ingredients- whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and the flavor you want to enjoy (vanilla, chocolate, coffee, green tea, any fruit, any vegetable, any meat, actually anything- there are endless flavors which may sound weird to the ear but delight to your taste palette, just like pickled mango ice cream or ghost pepper ice cream - you’ll have to sign a waiver if you plan to order it!) So, mix and match different flavors and create your delight.
Fun Fact- It takes about 50 licks to finish a single scoop ice cream cone!
So apart from flavors, how is the experience of consuming ice cream enriched? What ways can it be served in? Does its quantity differ with every dessert it’s served with? How do people actually want to have it?
- on a cone
- in a cup/ bowl
- on a stick
- in a sundae
- in a sandwich
- in a taco
- rolled (cold stone)
- in a milkshake
- in a cake
- fried
- as spaghetti
- in a bread
- as quenelles
- in ice cream soda
- in ice cream float
- in a fruit salad
- with brownies/ waffles/ pancakes/ tarts/ pies
- with flavored syrups and toppings
- as mini frozen ice-cream balls (liquid nitrogen ice cream balls)
Ways to have ice cream are as diverse as its flavors. It finds its way in any form or any dessert and makes itself a perfect addition. Even people with teeth sensitive to cold enjoy ice cream more alongside other desserts. Cold foods and drinks not only have an impact on our sensitive teeth but also on our brain, causing a short-term headache lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes!
Fact- Brain freeze occurs when ice cream touches the roof of your mouth.
Although the invention of the ice cream scoop did not lead to any other inventions, there were many innovations of it, which aimed at improving the efficiency of the existing features. Apart from the scoops, many tools and machines also came up which served the purpose of serving ice cream before the invention of the scoop and alongside its innovations.
The below table is a compilation of how ice cream serving tools have not only evolved but also the form in which ice cream is served has changed.
The form of ice cream has changed with dollops of ice cream on a plate, quenelles, scoops, bars to foam, spaghetti, mini frozen balls, rolled ice cream, and even bite-size bonbons. So have the tools, machines and technology used to make them.
One of the ice cream forms that captivated me the most was the Ice Cream Spaghetti. It was invented in 1969 in Germany by Dario Fontanella, who squeezed vanilla ice cream through a Spätzlepresse, similar to a potato ricer, which transformed the ice cream into vermicular shapes. It was topped with fake sauce and fake Parmesan.
I became so obsessed with it that I’m trying it out at home!
PARALLEL PRODUCT SEARCH
I categorized the process involved in scooping ice cream into different stages and tried to associate parallel products with it.
- Parallel products for the act of scooping (products that have similar form and function as that of the ice cream scoop)
- How ice cream releases itself from the scoop — Parallel products (products with same mechanism as sweeper)
How ice cream releases itself from the scoop — Parallel products (products with the same mechanism)
- Parallel products for the act of serving (how ice cream is served)
The parallel products might help in giving inspiration while conceptualizing for the final design.
