Challenge

54 million people currently have doctor-diagnosed arthritis and it will continue to rise to 78 million by the year 2040. Having interviewed and observing users who struggle with arthritis in their usual daily routine, I found out that they all commonly struggle with holding and pouring a kettle. Almost all of them had weak ligaments and it was a struggle to hold anything heavy – especially if it was hot. How might we design a kettle or teapot that is easy and simple to pour for users who struggle with arthritis?

Solution

The eureka moment came when I thought, why not just come up with a simple tip? The design addressed this issue by transferring the load of the kettle to the tabletop, thus requiring the user to just tilt it to pour; drastically reducing strain on the wrist.

Tipot is designed for people with arthritis who struggle with pouring water with an electric kettle with a simple modification of the tip, along with a weighted centre of gravity base. Tipot was carefully designed to reshape the way people with arthritis pour their favourite drink with ease.

Awards

Awarded Platinum by Singapore Design Awards 2019

German Design Council Special Award under Taiwan International Student Design Competition 2019

Excellence Award by Quanzhou 1st Zayton Cup International Design Competition 2021

Finalist of Red dot design award 2019 under two categories

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