Introduction
At first glance one would think that Philippe Starck’s iconic juicer was a spider-inspired piece of artwork due to the three long legs that supports what seems to be a rocket ship-shaped body. Surprisingly, the designer actually thought of the similar inspiration. The juicer is now considered as an icon of contemporary industrial design; it even earned its place in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. However, the juicer itself according to Starck was intended to be a conversation piece rather than a juicer. In 1989, Alessi originally approached the Italian designer to design a stainless steel tray, but after a trip to a restaurant and saw the shape of the squid, Starck immediately came up with an idea for something else that is now known as the Juicy Salif. Since the piece was originally a citrus juicer, it is apparent that the functionality and all elements that comprise its overall value had to be analyzed. This analysis will follow the ACCESSFM method in which aesthetics, cost, customer, environment, safety, size, function and manufacture will be discussed.
ACCESSFM
Aesthetics
The product resembles several different figures, based from another person’s perspective the product looks like a rocket ship with unusual legs, from another point of view it looked like a squid or a spider. Average individual would not immediately perceive it as a juicer until such time that it being used for such function. The reason that the product was made into a very unconventional shape is that both the shape of the spider’s legs and the body of the squid inspired the designer. The style appears to be consistent with the material used to manufacture it considering the choice of the material for the product is cast aluminum. With regards to the price, the product is quite expensive for a simple piece of equipment with none of the complicated components as seen in most of other related equipment of the same function. The later versions of the product were sold as collector pieces made to serve as decorative pieces in gold plated, black and gray.
Cost
When the product first came out of the market each costs £62.59 to buy, after 10 years from its first launch 10,000 units were released with individual numbers and gold plated with a price tag of £216.4 a piece. With regards to the cost of making the product, there were no information that can point out such detail, one could only speculate the cost by calculating the price of manufacturing cast aluminum equipment during that period based on the juicer’s specification. In order to identify the cost, the juicer’s volume should be first determined. Using the product’s dimensions (29.8 x 12.7 x 10.2 cm), the volume in cubic inches (in³) will be 235.60 in³. Aluminum weighs about .098 lbs. per cubic inch, if the speculated volume of the juicer is 235.60 in³; the total weight of aluminum used for the juicer is 23.10 lbs. or 10.5 kilograms. It sounds too much weight for a product smaller than the size of a ruler, but considering yield and wastages it still conforms the weight assumption to be reasonable. Assuming that the price of aluminum in 1990s is £0.53 per pound (based on current aluminum market value), the cost for the metal alone is £12.2 (speculated total weight 23.10 lbs. x price per pound £0.53 = £12.2). Given the labor, administrative, logistics and retail cost plus the raw materials, the cost of manufacturing the product is likely to be at 50% of the product’s retail price or roughly £31.29 apiece considering the £62.59 price tag, which is quite expensive for a juicer. The reasons for the high retail cost of the product is not relatively about the cost of making it, but the aesthetical value of the product that is considered to be a decorative piece of kitchen art rather than a functional piece of equipment. From a consumer point of view, the price of the juicer is quite unreasonable given its lack of sophisticated components. This argument suggests that the product gives less value for the money. However, in terms of artistic-aesthetical nature, the price indeed gives reasonable value for the money. The importance of the product depends on how it will function; in terms of performance several users of the product stressed its ineffectiveness as a juicer. Therefore, performance relative to the cost, meaning high performance defeats cost concerns. However, given the decorative nature of the product, it does emphasize impeccable performance, which justifies its cost.
Customer
Juicy Salif was designed for savvy kitchen dwellers that are looking for unconventional piece of equipment that serves both functions of utility and decoratively. The first impression of the product being a citrus juicer in a sense is to use as a juicer. The tip of the juicer is where the citrus should be pressed to extract the juice, primarily the product was intended for cooking and other kitchen related activities. However, Starck himself stated that although it is a juicer, his design purpose is to create a conversation out of its appearance. The product attracted the attention of customers because of its unusual shape and design, the spider like leg, the squid like body is something not common in similar kitchen tools. This characteristic caught the interest of the stylish, the critiques, the artistic and the average households.
Environment
When it comes to environmental advantages, in many levels the product conforms to the environmental protection practices of recycling and repurposing. For example, the product does not have electrical components that may cause E-waste and CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the non-plastic body reduces the risk for plastic chemical reactions with citric acids. When it comes to recycling, aluminum metal can be repurposed and processed by metal scrap dealers to be melted back to raw form and return to manufacturing process of making a new product. The metal nature of the product suggests its sustainability considering that metal is a form of renewable source. As the product itself, it does not have any harmful environmental effects. On the other hand, carbon footprint suggests a problem particularly during the smelting process. The process is generally the major source of emission. For example, extracting aluminum from the ore requires immense electrical energy that is normally supplied by coal-based power plants. This process is the only source of carbon footprint in the product apart from the emission coming from logistics and other processes.
Safety
Product risk is not very much applicable to the product, as mentioned earlier it doesn’t have any other components that may loose over the long period of use other than corrosion, but it is likely to happen since the product was made from aluminum alloy that is relatively immune to corrosion. Issues of safety risks vary from improper use such as probable breaking of one of its leg that may cause injury to the user. Other than that, it is quite safe to use. The occasional sliding off the kitchen counter may cause very minimal risk. However, it was anticipated, hence the rubber footing attached in each leg of the juicer is necessary to keep the juicer well balanced and stays in place during use. The juicer is not dishwasher safe as Alessi (the manufacturer) admits because of the design. However, when it comes to safety standards, the juicer meets the necessary product safety rules given that the product itself does not have any loose parts that may cause safety risks. Assuming that the product conforms to the safety regulations, another way to reduce risk is to ensure that each product comes with safety and proper use guidelines.
Size
The juicer stands at 11.5 inches and 5.5 inches in diameter or a specified dimension of 29.8 x 12.7 x 10.2 cm. The circumference of the top portion of the juicer is enough to match the circumference of an average orange cut in half. This product dimension conforms to the standard size of a normal juicer. Furthermore, the height was chosen to fit to normal sized kitchen cabinets and on top of kitchen counters. If made larger, the juicer may not fit into storage and display counters in home kitchen. In addition, larger circumference body will make it difficult for juicing citrus. If made smaller, the only advantage is towards storage and display space, but functionality will suffer because smaller juices are insufficient in performing its primary function. It appears that the designer also considered ergonomics due to the practicality of the design concept, which is easy to use and applicable to diverse dimensions of people. As compared to electronic juicer that less technologically-inclined users find confusing to use, Juicy Salif is much more user friendly. In relation to cost and size, the smaller the juicer the less it would cost to manufacture because it would require lesser amount of raw materials and energy consumption during die-casting. From another perspective, Alessi only manufactured 500,000 units of the product and when translated into cost and volume relationship would suggest that making the product smaller would decrease cost across all the manufacturing processes involved in production. Considering that the smaller the product the less materials needed given the same amount of production volume.
Function
Starck reiterates that his juicer is not for juicing, but to start a conversation. However, the fact that it was originally a juicer, it is expected to perform as such. Although the product generally do what it is expected to do, it still lacks the efficiency that other juicers with economical design have. It is easy to use; place a glass or any container that will fit under in between the juicer’s legs, hold the other leg to keep it steady and press the citrus on top of the juicing shaft. Generally it comes out successful in terms of functioning as a juicer, but it could have been made much efficient if the footing was replaced with a small suction cups instead of rubber base to ensure that that the juicer will keep steady while juicing without the need to hold one of its legs. The design could get any simpler than it was, all it needs to be more effective is a little increase in the upper shaft’s circumference to increase juicing capacity and more secured footing design for stability.
Materials
The juicer was made from EN 601 type of aluminum alloy, which is preferred by the European Standards in kitchen utensils manufacturing since the chemical composition of the metal is safe to use in contact with food. It is technically single piece equipment, but consist of two sections, the body and the tripod legs. The juicer was made without any loose or detachable part is because Starck insists on maintaining simplicity and aesthetical characteristic. For a kitchen tool nothing will work better than E601 aluminum alloy because it’s major advantage towards food safety is a major concern given the purpose that the product tend to serve. In addition, the choice of material for the product is quite the most appropriate because style and character is encompassed in the product and aluminum alloy’s smooth and shiny characteristic fits the classy and elegant look of the product.
Manufacture
Juicy Salif was mass-produced using die-cast aluminum alloy process. Die-casting is defined by pressing molten metal to mold cavity using high pressure pressing machine. Aluminum alloys in the production process of the product requires a minimum section of 0.035 inches with minimum draft of 0.6°. In the die-casting process hot and cold chamber machines are preferred to determine the clamping force that needs to be applied with normal ratings between 400 and 4,000. However, hot-chamber machines are not applicable for the product because high melting metals such as aluminum might pick up iron while still in the melting pool. For the juicer, cold chamber machine was used in the manufacturing process. In cold-chamber process, the metal is melted in a separate furnace. The next step is that the molten metal is injected to the machine to be transferred to the hydraulic injection cylinder. The, the mechanical piston will shoot the molten metal to the die cast (see below diagram).
The die-casting process starts with lubricating the mold cavity to help reduce temperature of the die and for easier removal of the castings. The next step is to close the die to prepare for molten metal injection. The usual temperature needed to inject the metal is between 10 to 175 megapascals. One the mold cavity is filled with molten aluminum; the same pressure will need to be sustained until the metal solidifies. After which, the castings will be released by the ejector pins and the castings are set aside to cool down. Earlier, assumptions were made to the cost of manufacturing the product including the amount of aluminum needed to create one cast. However, the usual yield percentage of aluminum die cast is 67%, if the approximated volume of aluminum required is 10.5 kg per cast it can be assumed that 7 kilos of aluminum is needed in a single injection. The assumptions were based on the product’s volume assuming that the product was made from a solid cast aluminum alloy. Since the recorded number of produced juicers released by Alessi is 500,000 units it can be considered as mass produced, but the scale of production did hot affect the production process and choice of material because aluminum alloy relatively costs less as compared to other alloy compounds. Overall, the product is well constructed because of its solid structure as a result of die casting, which has no loose and detachable parts and will render the product longer service life.
Conclusion
Philippe Starck’s creation is both a symbol of modern industrial product design that incorporates both aesthetical value and functionality. However, even if the product was made to serve a very basic functionality it still lacks the efficiency expected from similar product due to the unusual design incorporation. From an industrial designer’s point of view, it is quite a piece of work, but from a consumer’s perspective, it is a juicer in context and a decorative piece in appearance. The process entailed in manufacturing the problem suggests that Juicy Salif is just like any other kitchen product that came out of the die casting factory. However, it is its incomparable design elements that make it special and unique, but none of the complexities of a functional industrial product.
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