Bench Bar
2025 | wood & silicone
A universal kitchen tool designed to support one-handed food preparation and promote greater accessibility in the kitchen. The tool anchors securely to a countertop and provides resistance for slicing, spreading, peeling, and stabilizing ingredients without requiring a second hand.
Inspired by universal design principles, Bench Bar addresses the needs of users with limited mobility, temporary injury, or reduced grip strength, while remaining intuitive and useful for a wide range of cooks. Its simple form integrates a stabilizing edge, textured grip surfaces, and easy-to-clean materials, allowing users to perform common kitchen tasks more independently and safely.
Screenshot from empathy exercise:
cooking with one hand video
Key pain points:
1. Food buildup on the knife interrupts the chopping rhythm.
2. Wiping the blade clean requires a second hand or unsafe gestures.
3. Clearing the board and cleaning the knife are split actions.
How might we allow someone to wipe a knife clean while maintaining a continuous prep motion and safety?
Technical sketch
Glide the blade to remove cutting buildup
Flip to use as bench scraper