HRLM Fry Pan
This fry pan was designed for a new brand Urban Heirloom. The brand is focused on high quality, well designed, and reliable kitchen products. The fry pan was designed to be an elegant yet professionally functioning pan. The pan uses the highest grade materials to ensure it will last a lifetime and incorporates thoughtful design details to ensure its comfortable to use while retaining its functionality.
Key Features
We decided to focus on 3 main features for the fry pan. These three key features are what make up every fry pan in an over saturated market which made it important to make sure these were of the highest quality and design.
Pan Material Layers
The layers of metal in the pan will determine the heating properties and quality of the pan.
Pan Shape
The pan shape can allow for different utilities and cater to different audiences. Pan shape will also be determined by the material and process of construction.
Handle Features
The handle design is extremely important as in it is the main way the user interacts with the pan. There are several construction techniques with their own benefits.
Sketching Process
Focusing on the handle development I sketched through options that would match the aesthetics set in the earlier knife design. It was important to retain some of the visual identity but remain soft so when supporting the heavy pan there were not hard edges digging into the hand. Once we decided on an aesthetic direction we moved into CAD and prototyping.
Prototype Process
We went through multiple prototyping rounds to ensure the form was correct and comfortable. It was essential that the dropped handle naturally encourage a pinch grip for all sized hands.
Handle Features
The handle utilizes a hollow cast construction. The hollow casting gives you the comfort of a thicker handle but helps to keep the handle cool. The front portion is solid offering a strong connection to he pan. The design of the hollow handle offers a thumb rest to offer more control.
Pan Shape
We chose a flared pan style to keep pouring clean and easy. The flared edge also creates a more durable pan reducing dents from drops.
Final Design
The final design of the pan takes into account the main findings during the research stage while retaining the aesthetics of the HRLM brand. The dropped thumb rest give the pan identity while serving to increase the user experience.
Pan Material Layers
We decided to use a 5-ply construction to achieve the best possible results. 2 layers of Stainless Steel for durability and rust resistance, 2 layers of aluminum to evenly spread heat quickly, and 1 layer of copper to retain heat.
