It slices! It dices! It Juliennes fries!

Today marked the beginning of our new project–the kitchen appliance family project. I’ve seen other students do this project for two years, and I’ve been looking forward to it. I just want to do a good job with it. That said, I feel a little rushed to figure out which three appliances I want to design. I want to have a meaningful connection between the appliances because I feel like that’s an inherent part of being a “family.” I’ve thought about including some sort of shared element among the three, maybe a heating element or a motor. Is this really innovative, though? I’d like to do something unique and interesting with this project, so I don’t want to do something that’s been done a million times over. On the other hand, I want it to be useful and desirable, too. My personal philosophy about kitchen appliances is that no product should do only one thing. Devices that do this, such as toasters, are kind of a waste of space. A toaster oven is much more versatile, and to me, that makes it a better product. If you’re going to buy a piece of equipment to live forever on your kitchen counter, it better be well worth the space it takes up. That being said, there are some times when you may want to use two (or three) machines at the same time. How can I choose three appliances that wouldn’t overlap? Or better yet, how can I allow the appliances to overlap without inconveniencing the user? Most urgently, what are three appliances that are worth improving?