bita research

These are simple, and to be honest what i wouldve first imagined childrens cutlery to be, simply, basic, soft around the edges and not to heavey looking, they seem proportioned to a childs size and the colours is bright basic and vibrant. however the cutlery being blue is very boysish, so if it were o be a full set there would obvisoulsy be a range of colours to choose from, that or perhaps the fork could be one colour the knife another and the spoon another.

www.shop.villeroy-boch.com

This set has to be my favourite so far, i love the gloss, i love fact they are so sleek, not to sharp but not wonky like most. they are basic and delicate looking, hoever, for cleaning purposes im sure they are unsuitable and parents wouldnt buy them for use, rather for ornamental use.

The tips are lovely, the way the knife and fork bend in, its a pity i couldnt see the depth or the angle of the curv on them, for research purposes to see if theyd be manageable for a child. the material used for them is clearly beautiful From an adults point of view, but in the eyes of a child, the slippery sleek handle may proove to be more of a neuisance, especially considering their limited knowledge and undeveloped motor skills.

lovely but would need improvement to be suitable for this project. however it gives me moer and more ideas for my sketch work.

www.beckyandlolo.co.uk

These are interesting for many reasons. They have different colour options, obviously to appeal to both genders, the material (plastic) used would be managable, making parents etc more willing to purchase the items.
 (when designing a product for use, you have to not only keep in mind the user but also the custmer, which in the case of children, espeically smaller children, the customer is actually the adult)
 The item is sleek, clean cut, difficult to break, which would be extremely handy when dealing with children, especially really young ones such as the age group im aiming for (2-3 yr olds)

The colors are bright and neon like, ie. appealing and vibrant o a small child, however the shape is very funky and a bit too advanced for this age group. Its what i wouldve gone for had i choosen an older age range, and i really love the smal swirled indent features, but its inappropriete for a three year old, however i wil use this resource and maybe build on it, and try incorporate its features into a more aproriete product.

www.ohbabylondon.com

Clearly young girls are the target age group and gender, however, the imagery can be easily changed. The age range however, its difficult for me to dertemine (i will do further research into the age group itself, and research thier abilities and how developed thier fine motor skills actually are)
A 2-3 yr old and 4-6 yr old would be very similar to me. however i understand there is a vast gap in thier abilities and will make this task even more difficult.

The handles are smooth, no sharp edges, it would be child friendly and safe, however im unsure how the curve helps a childs grasp.
The shape of this set has inspired a few extra sketches particularly in the handle shape, im now developing ideas on not just the overall set, but also defining features, such as the handle, which i would normally just take for granted.

at this point im loving how eye opening this project is, into such an everyday object, the details of which are normally taken for granted.

Another interesting feature on this, is one ive found alot whilst researching childrens cutlery. though it is somewhat irrelevant to my task at hand.
PERSONALIZED CUTLERY, granted its more for ornamental products and is rarley used, if it is, its normally quite cheap and the product itself isnt the merchandise, the personalized name is.
However, to make a small child more inclined to eat. Once again this is a confusing grey area, the peronslized named products may be more suited towards an older child that could probably read, However it is an interesting feature i may wish to go further into at a later date when refining my final deisgns and ideas.

www.personalizedgiftshop.co.uk

-the handles grooves have to be fitting to a small childs hand (must get a few examples, and research small children, thier abilities and the size/shape of thier hands)
-size, shape, width and wieght, things ot keep in mind whilst sketching.

These are very boring and basic, though liekly very lovely, they arent practical and id really like to use this particular research piece not as something to build on, but rather something to avoid.
unlike the previous sets, especially the flowers one above, the tps arent rounded, nor are they unique, rather they are sharp and probably that extra bit more difficult for a very small child to use.

I dont like the fact they arent deep, my ideas have developed and i think the set i create will have a good deal of depth, so the fod will stay on the product long enough for a child to eat it, as children scoop more than balance.

im unsre how long the handle will be, i believe at this stage it will be bulky but i doubt itll be too long, after all it would take more hand eye cordination for them to manouver the object from the food/bowl, to thier mouth, all this without spilling the food everywhere.
a taken for granted movement, but for a small child with limited abilities, these things have to be take into account more so than the products imagery.

usability over vanity, however it still has to be appealing or the child wont want to use it. it has to be handy but wantable. a dificult combination.

www.bhs.com

The shape of the heads was the first thing that grabbed my attention when i came across this available set, they are bulky but not in the way, they are squar which is very unusual, a lovely and interesting concept, and combined with my idea of the deeper cutlery for easier scooping, a more cornered product, could be useful.
the square isnt pointy but it isnt rounded enoug to allow all food to spill out, if it was deepened just slightly more, then that would be the basic shape im going for.

-at this point, i have a very basic but solid understanding of what kinda of product i want to develop, time for a mood board maybe)

A feature i dont like would be the handle length in comparison to the size of the head, for a small child, its too long.
i believe this product would be more suited to an assistaed meal, as in a parent feeding the child, ie the long handle would be useful for thier larger hands, and the small tip is suited for a toddlers mouth. It would give the adult with the refined motor skills enough leway to reach a child, whilst keeping the useful child sized tip.

A less obvious but equally interesting feature, is something similar to what i discussed before. the colours. they are gender nuetral like i thought of, but they are different colours, meaning theres no need for a large selection of sets, instead, each piece has a different and unique colour. here its displayed not as a whole product, but a small design at the botom, similar to the character set previous. i like the simpleness of the novelty design, and its something along the lines of what i want to go for, rather than choose a popular tv show or toy, teddy bears and happy faces are somewhat less complicated and would appeal to even fussy children, unlike the character piece.

www.amazon.co.uk