The brief: For my former employer PF Concept I was asked to create kitchen and home accessories that would put a smile on the face of the end users and associate the giving brand with positive feelings.
The result: What happens when you mix normal kitchen utensils with construction tools? A putty knife, screwdriver and paintbrush become a whisk, spoon and spatula. Fun achieved 🙂
The main restriction was the price so the materials and features used had to be very carefully selected. Also the ability to decorate all the items as well as the packaging with a customer logo played a crucial part in the decision-making process.
The packaging concept was initially a cardboard box that resembled a metal tool box but in the end a more basic but sturdy plastic giftbox was chosen to showcase the items.
As a part of the same range of light-hearted “funny” kitchen concepts I designed together with my colleague Pascalle van Hese a pepper grinder in the shape of a lightbulb. The idea was that this would be used in marketing campaigns containing some form of innovation or “new idea” message.
The challenge was the combination of a the low budget combined with some technical difficulties associated with the grinding mechanism. To solve this puzzle required close communication between the factory engineers and the designers but in the end solutions were found and the resulting product was cheap, funny and functional.
In the same line of funny marketing concepts I came up with some novel ideas for barbecue items: a bendy standup torch, a fire bucket tool set and a holster that wrapped around the waist and leg and also had a beer opener integrated.
In a more serious tone, also for PF Concept I designed various sets of knives and cutting boards using only wood and metal. The aesthetic of the range was clean and simple and allowed for good decorating areas on the products.
Paul Bocuse, a famous French chef with a reputation for fine dining licensed his name to PF Concept for various Home & Living products. I designed a picnic basket for his brand: besides designing the shape of the basket and personalized the components I also designed a decorating plate mechanism.
Wine, wine tools and accessories are always a popular gift. My task was to redesign the ubiquitous Chinse gift box to a more updated look that is more modern yet still remains luxurious. I prepared the packaging concepts and also designed the image that is visible when opening the box.
