COMPONENT DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY
After the final concept presentation, MWDesign will focus on the approved product concept. This will be done primarily through 3D CAD modelling. We will further development the CAD models into precise components incorporating all features from the final concept design. The objective is to develop the design to allow us to create a prototype for testing, before investing in tooling.
Focusing on individual part components, MWDesign will refine the components and design out the cost to enable us to maintain quality while meeting our budget cost. We will begin engineering the parts for the product, focusing on functional aspects of the design.
COMPONENT DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY
After the final concept presentation, MWDesign will focus on the approved product concept. This will be done primarily through 3D CAD modelling. We will further development the CAD models into precise components incorporating all features from the final concept design. The objective is to develop the design to allow us to create a prototype for testing, before investing in tooling.
Focusing on individual part components, MWDesign will refine the components and design out the cost to enable us to maintain quality while meeting our budget cost. We will begin engineering the parts for the product, focusing on functional aspects of the design.
COMPONENT DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY
After the final concept presentation, MWDesign will focus on the approved product concept. This will be done primarily through 3D CAD modelling. We will further development the CAD models into precise components incorporating all features from the final concept design. The objective is to develop the design to allow us to create a prototype for testing, before investing in tooling.
Focusing on individual part components, MWDesign will refine the components and design out the cost to enable us to maintain quality while meeting our budget cost. We will begin engineering the parts for the product, focusing on functional aspects of the design.
Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust
KUKI REKA KANI - 1-3
Kuki Reka Kani is a collection of culturally inspired cookie cutters that connect kaumātua and children with their heritage through sensory colour, storytelling, and cooking therapy. Rich in colour, whakapapa, and values, they have brought joy, learning, and connection to thousands of whānau across Aotearoa. Set 1-3 won gold and silver at the 2021 Best Design Awards.
SERVICES
Industrial Design
CAD Development
Visual Renders
DFM
Prototyping
OPPORTUNITY
Colour, Culture, Connection
Kuki Reka Kani are 13 unique cookie cutters, designed for the Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, that imprint modern Māori designs onto the dough. The concept, was initiated to help Kaumātua/older persons with dementia, connect with their heritage through cooking therapy in a social and fun way.
Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust is a non-profit registered charity who has serviced the needs of over 600 Kaumātua in the Hamilton area for just over 22 years whilst being based at a site called “Te Puna o Te Ora” that has served Maoridom for more than 78 years. The vision of the Trust is to “enhance the quality of life and well-being of Kaumātua” by providing a range of culturally focussed and accessible health, education, welfare, housing and social support as well as recreational community-based activities and services for them.
Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust needed a method to generate an income to help Kaumātua achieve their aspirations and overcome the challenges that many face.
Cooking therapy is often used by care homes to provide a safe, relaxed and sociable activity for those with dementia. An obvious gap was the absence of any Māori designs that would enhance the presence of Māori culture within such a setting. The design of the Kuki Kani was planned to address a number of factors, including identifying with the guidance of Kaumātua, appropriate Māori designs that could be used in the context of food. We undertook several drafts during this consultation phase before finalising the imagery of the Koru, Pāua, Kete, Hei-Matau and Pikorua (both the single and double twist) as the traditional Māori designs that would be used. Inclusion of these designs in modern baking methods, acknowledge Māori culture, enhances the connection to whakapapa and creates a more culturally inclusive environment for Kaumātua with dementia.
APPROACH & OUTCOME
Designed with Kaumātua
The cutters are designed to cut through the dough and leave a pattern imprinted on the dough in one easy push. This makes the Kuki Kani gentle on both elderly, arthritic hands as well as providing a large, soft grip for children’s hands to hold when using in the kitchen. The patterned designs are drafted to reflect the look of the chiselled traditional Māori wood carvings. This also helps to release the dough from the cutter by having draft on the patterns.
The dowel in the handle is made from aluminium, which adds weight to the handle, meaning that the Kaumātua don't need to push as hard to cut through the dough, assisting arthritic hands and wrists.
We worked with the bakers at Rauawaawa to watch their methods and process of prepping the benches, dough and utensils to create homemade cookies in a commercial kitchen. By standing alongside them, we were able to develop our designs to work easily with both professional pastry chefs and amateur bakers at home.
APPROACH & OUTCOME
Design, Heritage, & Impact
The slight flexibility of the polypropylene cutter allows its edges to splay outward slightly when pressure is applied to the handle. This creates an air gap and draft angle, enabling the dough to release from the cutter and remain on the bench. The cutting edges pass through the dough first, before the pattern is pressed into the surface.
Polypropylene and aluminium provide hygienic, food-safe surfaces that are easy to clean and dishwasher-safe. These durable materials also make the cutters long-lasting and non-stick.
The colours of each Kuki Kani reflect places sacred to Māori in Aotearoa: Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington Harbour), Tongariro, Mount Taranaki, Lake Taupō, Hakarimata Scenic Reserve, and Kapowairua (Spirits Bay). These complementary colours help Kaumātua connect with their
heritage and iwi.
The cookies and cookie cutters produced, packaged, and sold provide a strong sense of achievement for Kaumātua within the Rauawaawa community, while also raising funds to support their aspirations and improve health and wellbeing.
