Oil splash is a serious challenge in the kitchen, as it leads to various forms of domestic skin injuries. During interaction with domestic cooks, I found out that majority of middle aged and elderly people, in Nigeria, have learnt to endure the pain from oil splashes. While younger people are more conscious of it.
I got interested in oil splashes when I saw an injury a colleague sustained, while cooking over the Christmas break. Also, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced me to switch from eating out to cooking everything I eat. This meant I experienced my fair share of oil splashes. At this point where I started thinking of an Oleo-Shield, inspired by the fencing Epee.
The Oleo Shield concept is a design exploration that seeks to improve kitchen safety by introducing a detachable accessory to frying tools ranging from skimmer, spatula, two-pronged fork, to slotted spatula. It is designed to protect the user’s hand and wrists from direct oil splashes during frying. For optimum thermal performance, it is made from heat resistant optical-clear poly-carbonate, with an oleo-phobic film, to ensure users view is not obstructed. The oleo-phobic film ensures splashed oils do not stick to the shield’s surfaces.
Oleo-Shield attached to a cooking spoon. The device works for both cooking and frying spoons.
Shield Attachment Procedure
Data acquired during the user research revealed that users wanted the option to switch between having the Oleo-Shield on and having it off, similar to mobile phone users having the option of using a phone case, or not.
Oleo-Shield attachment procedure.
Users who are interesting in deploying the shield can do so in four easy steps.
- Unscrew handle from tool head.
- Pull out place holder (The place holder is designed to fill the groove that the shield will dock in. It also serves a cosmetic purpose, visually separating the handle from the tool head)
- Place Oleo-Shield
- Screw handle to hold Oleo-Shield in place
Animation showing the attachment process.
Ideation & Exploratory Sketches
A series of ideation and exploratory sketches made to define the concept. Also to explore multiple forms, CMF (Color, Material, Finish), and Assembly.
Ideation and Exploratory Sketches
Skimmer Spoon
Skimmer spoon
Skimmer spoon bench-marking sketches: A series of sketches and dimension annotations made during product research, to ensure designed skimmer geometry align with standards and ergonomics.
Skimmer spoon with Oleo-Shield attached
Skimmer spoon without Oleo-Shield attached
Skimmer spoon without Oleo-Shield attached
Skimmer spoon with Oleo-Shield attached
Slotted Spatula
Slotted Spatula
Slotted spatula bench-marking sketches: A series of sketches and dimension annotations made during product research, to ensure designed slotted spatula CAD geometry align with standards and ergonomics.
Slotted spatula with Oleo-Shield attached
Slotted spatula without Oleo-Shield attached
Two Pronged Fork
Two Pronged Fork
Two pronged fork bench-marking sketches: A series of sketches and dimension annotations made during product research, to ensure designed two pronged fork CAD geometry align with standards and ergonomics.
Two pronged fork with Oleo-Shield
Two pronged fork without Oleo-Shield
Spatula
Spatula
Spatula bench-marking sketches: A series of sketches and dimension annotations made during product research, to ensure designed Spatula CAD geometry align with standards and ergonomics.
Spatula with Oleo-Shield
Spatula without Oleo-Shield
